Artwork Appreciation
Farewell to the Fox – 18 is one of a series of works by photographer Teng Po-Jen. Through his conversations and interactions with students, he used his camera lens to capture the appearance of contemporary young people, and in this fashion, he recalled his own memories and compared how young people of the present seem different from those of the past. In this work, one sees two figures wearing strange animal masks over the heads. One leapfrogs over the other, who is bending over. The artist uses this action to imply how the period of youth has leapt past. The intensely orange and blue smoke in the lower part of the composition creates a strange sense of fantasy. For Teng Po-Jen, this smoke is like a letter in a bottle, symbolizing the transmission of messages. It is also like the smoke used in ceremonies of worship: we often burn things to convey our thoughts and feelings of gratitude to our ancestors. Teng Po-Jen imagines that this smoke is delivering a message to his future self.