Artwork Appreciation
Artist HO Huey-Chih is adept at creating still lives with exquisite, complex brushstrokes, seeking subjects from everyday objects and food common in Taiwan and arranging them on the canvas.
This sumptuous spread evokes visual delight and gives the viewer the sense of a bountiful feast. In Five New Senses, she presents objects symbolizing the five senses: the mirror symbolizes sight, the peaches denote taste, the flowers signify smell, the chessboard represents touch, and the flute stands for hearing. The candle hints at the passage of time, and the short lifetime of the flowers and fruit is a metaphor for the impermanence of the world. Through the metaphors of ordinary items, the artist laments time’s passage and the world’s impermanence, presenting an unconventional message about life.