Artwork Appreciation
CHEN Hui-Chiao is skilled in using readymades as symbolic vocabulary to convey her concepts and experiences. The Promise Shambhala presents Shambhala, known as Shangri-La, symbolizing a searching for the paradise-like sanctuary and mystical realm within. White and orange ping-pong balls are arranged in orderly rows that complements the simple color arrangements to create a rhythmic, harmonious, rational, and emotional visual composition. A ping-pong ball may have a simple shape, but is capable of accommodating an infinite combination of changes. Spherical objects represent planets, and the movement of the balls serves as an analogy for revolution that acts as the key driving force of development in societies and civilizations. Simplicity and harmony, compatibility and independence are the core concepts of CHEN Hui-Chiao’s artistic elements that infinitely expand upon the spherical shapes as a response to questions regarding the existence of the mind and spirit.