This exhibition showcases Yi-Ping Pong’s exploration of the relationship between women and family, society, class, race, history, religion, politics, economy and culture. She investigates the spatial structure and power relation between patriarchal politics and matriarchal predominance after personally visiting more than fifty countries from 1993 to 2015. It is also an experimental exhibition that incorporates visual text and interactive dialogue designed specifically for MOCA, Taipei by the artist.
A statement from A Room of One’s Own by the British novelist, Virginia Woolf, has left a lasting impression in Pong’s mind: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” However, as her journey has unfolded and her cultural exploration in different countries unveiled, Pong has witnessed a common reality, which is that most women might not own a room of their own throughout their lives. Some are never even aware of the significance and importance of having their own space!
For more than twenty years, Pong has studied themes and created works related to women, and her work integrated versatile forms of exhibition and performance, including literature, photography, documentary, drama, and installation art. The thirty-eight new works are all inspired by the authentic experience of her personal journey around the world and her observation of family life in different countries. Pong divides the exhibition space of MOCA Studio into three thematic sections: the hallway represents Women’s Rooms Around the World with lightbox installations, and traces the changes of photography from its beginning to the digital era. R102 presents Pong’s interpretation of Women’s Rooms in Taiwan with nine documentaries. The entire space simulates an atmosphere of a “cinematic street.” Meanwhile, a photography studio is set up in the room for creating dialogues between female audiences and the artist. R103 returns to the artist’s own room. My Room uses her own study as a prologue to revisit how the space has shaped her character and thinking and gradually become the driving force behind her writing, artistic creation and venture into the world. This work also pays homage to Woolf.
Through this exhibition, Pong hopes to reexamine the symbol of “woman,” what it signifies in society, as well as how to construct a self image through “space” while deconstructing social confinement. Heroom is not only a symbol of women’s right and freedom but also a world for women to display their imagination and fantasy.