-----
展覽：72海浬 – 紀凱淵個展
媒材：錄像、攝影
地點：海馬迴 光畫館
72 Nautical Miles - Solo Exhibition
Video and Photography
Fotoaura Institute of Photography, Tainan, Taiwan
72海浬 – 紀凱淵個展
此系列作品是由澎湖獨特的「乞龜」[1] 文化，重新探看我來自的「地方」，位於高雄的澎湖移民聚落，澎湖社。並從這個地方所展現的文化樣貌，進一步思考地方的範籌，一種由人的生活慣行與空間需求所形構的文化地理關係，具實體與精神性的空間邊界。在這個區域內，信仰是聯繫在地社群與文化生產的主要來源，包含了各種儀式、習俗與節慶，同時呈現出地方的差異。而我則因生長過程的地方經驗，長成一個在地的、特殊性的個體。
在創作的實踐上，我從地方經時間流變之後，僅存的歷史記憶，以及碎片式的昔日空間中，找到了過去曾在場、未來也在場的物件「平安龜」。這個庶民物件因元宵乞龜的儀式，確保了每年元宵都將再次現身的存在狀態，且由於儀式的過程，讓物件轉化成具有意義的事件。於是我選用平安龜作為創作的主要對象，它的造型與內涵使得地方文化出現可見的、可辨認的樣貌，並在穿越時空限制後，成為一個關於我的、持續顯現的文化表徵。
作品形式方面，我以錄像、攝影和文件來呈現平安龜與「移動」的關係，從定期乘船往返高雄和澎湖的經驗中，我開始思索著移動的狀態。澎湖移民在歷史洪流裡，不間斷的於兩地之間進行「遷徙式」的朝向與「溯源式」的回返行徑，顯示出移動的「双向」特質；而長時間的移動過程，則會帶給人們心理或實質上的改變，彷若儀式的功能般，啟動了人的內在感受，一種非概念性的身體轉化。可以說，移動是一趟純粹經驗時間與空間轉移的真空狀態，在告別與邁向的過渡中注入各種可能，是一項尚未定型、即將變異、感官延展的動態運行。
最後，海洋作為移動的主要平面，串連起澎湖移民、平安龜、双向船、文化流動等，此系列作品的幾個關鍵字。以海龜為造型的平安龜是具象的文化產物，它宛如在不同時空中，依舊双向往返的船舶，於海面上劃出一道又一道的迴圈。而海洋在永恆回歸的時間軸裡，除了一再乘載著文明的移動與回返，其本身的物理現象上，亦是一個不斷循環的流動狀態，也就是我從中看到的「迴」，双向的本質。我想，是海的能動性給出了所有關係的連結，也激起藝術家的再次遙想，從經驗與記憶的召喚中創作出反饋自身的作品。
------------
[1]
「乞龜」是台灣南部沿海一帶的信仰文化，通常在元宵節時，寺廟會委託糕餅店的師傅製作各種尺寸的「平安龜」，讓人們以擲筊的方式，向神明乞龜回家吃平安，擲出三個聖筊即可將龜請回。而乞求到平安龜的人，代表著新一年的福氣與庇祐，並待隔年元宵再訂製一隻添加重量或數量的龜來還，如此年年延續。目前乞龜文化盛行的地區為：澎湖、高雄、台南（跟這三座城市之間的移民交往有關）。
72 NAUTICAL MILES
CHI Kai Yuan Solo Exhibition
The series 72 Nautical Miles is based on the unique cultural phenomena of qi-gui from Penghu [1], revisiting the “place” I came from, the Penghu immigrant settlement in Kaohsiung City. From the cultural appearance of place, one can further examine its classification, a socio-geographical relation that is formed by habits and spatial needs, with physical and spiritual boundaries. In this region, faith is the main source that connects local communities and cultural production, including various ceremonies, customs, and festivals, showcasing local variants. My own local experiences have shaped me into a localized, particular individual.
In my own practice, and experiencing the passage of time in a place, I have found the presence of “prosperity turtles” in the past and future, among residual historic memory and fragments of past spaces. This folk object subsists in the ritual of qi-gui, resurfacing again every year during the Lantern Festival, and through the process, the object transforms into a meaningful event. And so I choose prosperity turtles as the main subject of this series, its design and implication creates a visible and identifiable appearance for local culture, traversing limitations of time and space, becoming a cultural characterization of myself that continues to materialize.
I utilize video and photography to present the relationship between prosperity turtles and “mobility.” Traveling regularly between Kaohsiung and Penghu by boat, I began to consider the state of movement. In the torrents of history, Penghu immigrants carried out paths of “migratory” orientation and “homecoming” between these two places, showcasing a “bidirectional” nature of movement, while extensive travel time produces psychological changes, similarly to the function of ritual, activating inner feelings, an ambiguous, indescribable metamorphosis. It could be said that movement is a vacuum that undergoes the transference of time and space, injecting various possibilities into farewells and passages, a dynamic, oscillating movement that expands the senses.
With the ocean as the main plane of movement, connecting several keywords in this series: Penghu immigrant, prosperity turtles, bidirectional boats, and cultural mobility. Shaped in the form of a sea turtle, prosperity turtles are emblematic cultural products, akin to a ship that travels in two directions in a different time-space, drawing loops across the sea. The ocean is in an eternal regress in time, repeatedly bearing the movement and return of civilization, its own physics a constant circulation, the “revolve” that I recognize, the essence of bidirectionality. I believe the sea’s agency gives connection to all relationships, and inspires the artist, and through summoning experience and memory, produces works that return to the self.
------------
[1]
Qi-gui is a devotional practice along the southern coast of Taiwan. Often during the Lantern Festival, temples will commission pastry chefs in making “prosperity turtles” of various sizes, while people pray to the gods for blessings and prosperity by casting bwa-bwei moon blocks (wooden divination tools which are used in pairs to answer a yes or no question), confirmed by the gods through three consecutive shing-bwei “divine answers” (with one block flat and the other round). The person granted prosperity turtle is blessed with prosperity and care for the upcoming year, and will return the next year with an order heavier or with more turtles than the year before, continuing year after year. The area in which this practice is prevalent includes: Penghu, Kaohsiung, and Tainan (which is related to immigration between these three cities).
