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

尤里西斯是荷馬神話中，參與特洛伊戰爭後，於返國時在海上迷航十年的戰爭英雄，途中他有機會成為不死神仙，但最後他仍選擇當人，並回到家中與親人團聚。湯皇珍的【尤里西斯機器】個展，遙遙呼應了這個神話故事的意涵，但是自始發展出了她個人身體旅行/精神迷航的多重版本。本次於當代館的定點展出，實際關連到三場展覽串成的一種時間「旅行」*，而這個展覽本身也被定義為將十件連作不斷拆卸分組、使之變化重生的一部「機器」。 此次展出，湯皇珍將之前的《我去旅行》系列重新配置為八組新作，分別是在第一展間的〈旅行九/遠行的人〉、〈旅行四/Traveller.Bali〉和〈旅行七/廣場旅人（影音版）〉，第二展間的〈旅行七/廣場旅人(聲音版)〉、搭配成組的〈旅行六/幸福之島〉及〈旅行三/千禧伊通逍遙遊〉、〈旅行八/智者在此垂釣〉，以及置於廊道中，用來總括過去十件旅行作品概念的〈語言飛航〉裝置。 湯皇珍從尤里西斯海上迷途的神話得到靈感，以多年的時間和真實的行動，深入探索「旅行」同時作為行動和寓言事件的各種擬態。她兼從抽象心智與實質空間的角度，詮釋「旅行」中的交換、異位、反噬、變動，以及無法被確實捕捉、言說的特點。在這個展覽中，觀眾將進入湯皇珍策劃的迷航旅程，探訪藝術家心智活動的核心：創作者如何觀照、想像、演繹，達成對人類存身處境的覺知；展出的作品，具體呈現了創作者由思考到傳譯，由概念到表述，反覆地挑戰自我，不斷逆風奮行的意志和行動。 本次展出，也排定了四次的現場行動表演及論述座談，由藝術家本人擔綱將概念、演出與裝置串寫為新的文本，藉以引領觀眾重新思索語言、聲音、媒體、身體及空間所形成的多元感知層次。觀眾進入【尤里西斯機器】中，可以在湯皇珍《我去旅行》的原初敘述及不同版本的傳講中，尋找線索去穿梭，也可以恣意地或停或走，在藝術家傳遞的意念之間進行一次次的「啓程」與「返航」。 此展也是湯皇珍跋涉二十多年的創作旅程後，對自我和人生提出的大哉問：即人若必死，選擇生命這趟旅程，究竟為何？又何往？穿越【尤里西斯機器】的旅行後，或可提供新的思維面向。 Ulysses (Odysseus) was the war hero of the Trojan War in Homer’s epics. He was lost in the homebound voyage for 10 years on the sea, during which he was offered a chance to become immortal, but chose to remain human and returned home for his family. In the Ulysses Machine, Tang made use of this mythological story and developed multiple versions of her personal travels of the body and mind. The exhibition at MoCA Studio is the second stage of three exhibitions that constitute one complete “voyage” in time*, and this exhibition in three parts is defined by the 10 projects that could be deconstructed, reassembled and reshaped, which Tang calls her “machines.” For the MoCA Studio exhibition, Tang presented 8 projects of the reorganized I Go Travelling series: in the first gallery are I Go Travelling IX—The Sojourner, I Go Travelling IV—Traveller.Bali, and I Go Travelling VII—Plaza Traveler (audio-visual version), and in the second gallery are I Go Travelling VII—Plaza Traveler (audio version), I Go Travelling VI—A Happy Island, I Go Travelling III—IT Vacation, I Go Travelling IX—Wise Man Fish Here; another installation titled A Flight of Language that introduces the concepts of the 10 projects is placed in the hallway. With years of time and real actions, Tang has extracted the story of Ulysses’s voyage and explored different aspects of “travelling,” which can refer to physical actions but function as a metaphor for Tang at the same time. She interprets the idea of “travelling” from both perspectives of intellectuality and physicality, and examines the exchange, displacement, disavowal, variations and everything that could not be captured by words. In this exhibition, audience venture into a lost journey planned by Tang, and get a glimpse of the core of Tang’s thinking: how an artist thinks, imagines and interprets to achieve the awareness of the human condition. From the formation of thoughts to the delivery of ideas, and from having concepts in mind to expressing statements, the installations manifest the artist’s persevering will and actions, in which she has constantly challenged herself. There are two live performances and two lectures scheduled during the exhibition, and Tang aims to weave her concepts, performances and installations into a new tapestry of texts, leading the audience to re-think the multiple layers of language, sound, media, body and space. Entering the Ulysses Machine, one could find clues to travel, anchor or sojourn in the original version and various new versions of Tang’s I Go Travelling series, making his or her own departures and returns in between the ideas and concepts that Tang wishes to deliver. After being an artist for over 20 years, Tang also proposes a major question on one’s self and on life through this exhibition: if one must die in the end, what is the purpose of life? Where is one eventually heading? A travel through the Ulysses Machine might shed new light on these questions.