Even They Never Met
Niu Chun-Chiang
April 14 – May 19, 2012
Selected Work
Double-channel video, second hand photographs, photographs
“Even If They Never Met” is the plan of connecting Taipei and Los Angeles by images. Niu Chun-Chiang imitates the documentary as method, and completed in different time locations.
He selects ten portraits of women from his life before residency. Until arrive LA, he selects ten local women and let them choose one picture of these photos. She makes a hypothetical description (about her career, habits, favorite foods, her life, etc.) for the strange Taiwan woman. The way to describe must be undoubted, like an old friend ( the described as “I remember…”, not “I think …”). All interview will be recorded by video.
Until come back to Taiwan, He invites these ten Taiwanese women to describe in same way, for the American woman who selected her.Last, he edits the two-sides interview, let it become a dialogue across space and time.
In this program, we depict object according our life experience and cognize of culture by playing. We associate with their story in thinking by the portraits. When one side decrypting, she will take some self-projection on other side. The object will farther away from their original due the difference of background.
This is a co-write text. In addition to the models, the audiences of two countries will add thyself subjective image when they looking the work. The collection of image will be a memory source of crossing the race, language, and space-time.
About Artist
Niu Jun Qiang (b. 1983) graduated with MFA in New Media Art from Taipei National University of the Arts. His artworks mainly focus on the video, experimental lm, photography and mixed media installations.
Most of Niu’s recent artworks spring from the daily, ordinary life and the experiences involved in such. He has worked with many participants to narrate their past experiences for the creation of a more united, joint experience. During the creative process, Niu has investigated and examined the incredible relations between humans who do not really meet face to face physically and the life consciousness from the individuals to groups. Rather than focus on the materialism, he attacks on such a notion and looks at what can be the really persistent, unchanged, in humanity’s lifetime.
Niu Jun Qiang’s artworks have been featured in the short lm competition at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, held in the Netherlands, Pixilerations Tech Art Exhibition in Rhode Island, USA, the Aguilar International Short Film Festival in Spain, Tours Asian Film Festival in France, ARTchSO Video Festival in Rennes, France, Beijing Summer Digital Entertainment Festival, VAFA International Video Art Festival in Macau, Asian Students and Young Artists Art Festival in Seoul, Korea, It Takes Four Sorts: Cross-Strait Four-region Artistic Exchange Project in Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, Taipei Arts Awards in Taipei.