台北當代藝術館 官方網站 Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei

威尼斯雙年展是超過百年歷史的國際藝術節，也是全球最重要的當代藝術活動之一；長期致力於環境藝術創作的台灣藝術家黃瑞芳，今年獲暖化受難國吐瓦魯政府之邀，成為其國家館唯一參展藝術家，開創了台灣藝術家在國際大展中代表友邦國家館正式參展之先例。 「當極端氣候於全球各地肆虐，藝術該如何切入這個世界性的議題，進而發揮社會功能？」這是黃瑞芳身為藝術家長期關注並自我反思的課題。他認同德國藝術家波伊斯所提的「社會雕塑」概念，致力將他所關注的氣候與環境議題變遷轉化為一種個人實踐與民眾參與式的藝術行動，藉以喚醒人們對於全球環境議題的關懷。 2009年，關注氣候議題的黃瑞芳，與吐瓦魯開始合作，希望透過其藝術創作，呼籲全球正視吐國因海平面升高而將面臨的滅頂之災。2012年，黃瑞芳正式獲邀代表吐瓦魯參與「聯合國氣候變化綱要公約」（UNFCCC COP18）峰會，進而於2013年代表吐瓦魯國家館參加第55屆威尼斯雙年展。同年，他再獲選為紐約Farm Foundation北極藝術計劃的年度藝術家，在台灣，他也因為這些國際參與而獲選為第七屆總統文化獎得主。 此次在台北當代藝術館展出的【命運‧交織─黃瑞芳與吐瓦魯的對話】，是第55屆威尼斯雙年展吐瓦魯國家館展的續篇，除了原先在威尼斯公開展出的內容，黃瑞芳將進一步連結島國吐瓦魯與藝術之都威尼斯共同面臨的淹水議題，透過一系列從黑色幽默出發的作品和意象，嘲諷無孔不入的資本主義，批判工業革命以來人類以文明發展為名而掠奪自然資源的經濟系統架構，省思人類無限追求經濟私利而將付出的慘痛代價。 黃瑞芳藝術實踐的腳步，從氣候變遷最前線的南太平洋島國，一路延伸到見證冰層巨量融蝕的北極藝術航行計畫，透過創作與展覽，向世人提出了一個大哉問：「當代文明發展是指向明日的美麗新世界？或是衝向災難與崩潰的終點?」 【命運‧交織─黃瑞芳與吐瓦魯的對話】由台北當代藝術館與吐瓦魯駐中華民國大使館共同主辦，並由康乃爾大學潘安儀教授、藝評家李思賢與施淑萍擔任策展人，在節能減碳、綠色行銷已蔚成時尚文化和熱門話題的今日，本展對於現今非永續的經濟系統世界，肯定能催生更多面向與深度的思考。 Venice Biennial has been an international art festival for over a century and is one of the most important contemporary art exhibitions today. This year, Taiwanese artist Vincent J.F. Huang, who has long devoted himself to contemporary eco art, was invited to be the only participating artist of the Tuvalu Pavilion in the Biennial, making him the first artist that ever represented Taiwan’s diplomatic ally in a major international art event. “As climate change is becoming more extreme, how should art reflect and engage in this global crisis to make a difference?” This is the question that has been on Huang’s mind. Agreeing with German artist Joseph Beuys’s idea of “social sculpture,” Huang is dedicated to bringing the environmental issues into an art campaign that welcomes the public’s participation in order to raise more attention toward this global environmental issue. In 2009, Huang, who had always been focusing on climate issues, started cooperative projects with Tuvalu in the same year, hoping his art could work as a wake-up call to the world to pay attention to Tuvalu’s imminent threat of the rising sea levels. In 2012, the Tuvalu government named Huang as its delegate to the UNFCCC COP 18, and the next year, its representative artist in the Venice Biennal. Later that year, he was selected by Farm Foundation New York as one of the artists in the Arctic Circle project. Also, Huang is awarded the 7th Presidential Culture Award in Taiwan in recognition of his outstanding international achievements. Exhibiting at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Taipei, Destiny Intertwined—A Dialogue between Vincent J.F. Huang and Tuvalu is a sequel to Huang’s exhibition in the Tuvalu Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennal. In addition to the original artworks shown in Venice, Huang further addresses the flooding problem faced by both Tuvalu and Venice. Infused with black humor and images, he parodies the ubiquitous capitalism, criticizes the economic structure that abuses natural resources in the name of development and civilization, and contemplates on the dear price humans have to pay for their economic pursuit. Huang’s artistic practice spans from the islands of Tuvalu to the Arctic Circle, a project that witnesses the sublime massiveness of the arctic ice. Through his works and exhibitions, he poses a question to the world: “is the development of contemporary civilization pointing to a brighter future, or moving toward destruction?” Organized by MoCA, Taipei and Tuvalu Embassy in R.O.C. (Taiwan), and curated by professor An-yi Pan of Cornell University, art critics Szu-hsien Lee and Shu-ping Shih, it is hoped that the exhibition will inspire multi-faceted and profound reflection on the world’s unsustainable economic system as energy conservation, carbon reduction, and green marketing have become a trend today.