Catalogue > Un extrait vidéo au hasard

Lo Shih-tung

Ghosts next to the city

Installation vidéo | 0 | couleur | 14:3 | Taiwan | 2011

The script is written according to a conflagration which happened years ago in Treasure Hill. Through photo documents and interviews with residents, one can relate various images of fire to the past lifestyles of residents, whether it be fire accidents, bonfires, or fires for the purpose of producing light and warmth. These flickers of light can be seen as historical signifiers, linking together all the different people and memories belonging to this land. At present, Treasure Hill has been transformed and regenerated as an Artist Village. How to recollect the historic local memories and let them permeate into the present or even the future through the practice of contemporary art is a major issue that challenges us today. To this date, the flames of Treasure Hill have not yet ceased and are continuing to spread. Through various forms of fire (light) and images, it allows us to "see / illuminate" the different textures of Treasure Hill.

I regard the special textures present in our daily life, seeing them as in Walter Benjamin?s discourse, fragments and reflection of a complete structure, a whole world. My works are organic documents attempting to inquire and contemplate ever-changing warped messages. They do not only focus on one direction. Painting, photography, performance, audio/ video, installation, happenings can all be part of a creation thrown to public arenas awakening its refraction and feedback. Through the process of creating and interacting with spectators and communities, the fragmented, fissured, and forgotten history can be restored or even fictionalized. It is about seeking one?s identity, residence, hometown, and city; those long forgotten, unseen ghosts.