Rice Consciousness Series No. 22 (La memoire collective du riz-22) 150x220x50cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz

Painting Space Installation 1993-99

Rice Consciousness Series No. 21 (La memoire collective du riz-21) 150x220x50cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz

Painting Space Installation 1993-99

Rice Consciousness Series No. 20 (La memoire collective du riz-20) 150x220x50cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz

Painting Space Installation 1993-99

Rice Consciousness Series No. 19 (La memoire collective du riz-19) 100x230x45cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz

Painting Space Installation 1993-97

Rice Consciousness Series No. 18 (La memoire collective du riz-18) 100x240x45cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz

Painting and Object Space Installation 1993-97

Rice Consciousness Series No. 17 (La memoire collective du riz-17) 100x200x45cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz

Painting and Object Space Installation 1993-96

Rice Consciousness Series No. 16 (La memoire collective du riz-16) 100x200x45cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz

Painting Space Installation 1993-96

Rice Consciousness Series No. 15 (La memoire collective du riz-15) 100x200x45cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz

Painting Space Installation 1993-96

Rice Consciousness Series No. 14 (La memoire collective du riz-14) 100x200x45cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz

Painting and Object Space Installation 1993-95

Rice Consciousness Series No. 13 (La memoire collective du riz-13) 100x200x45cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz

Painting and Object Space Installation 1993-95

Rice Consciousness Series No. 12 (La memoire collective du riz-12) 100x200x45cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz

Painting and Object Space Installation 1993-95

Rice Consciousness Series No. 11 (La memoire collective du riz-11) 100x200x45cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz

Painting and Object Space Installation 1993-95

Rice Consciousness Series No. 10 (La memoire collective du riz-10) 82x93cm Acrylic and rice Three paintings overlapped Acrylique et riz

1989-1993

Rice Consciousness Series No. 9 (La memoire collective du riz-9) 82x93cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz 1993

Rice Consciousness Series No. 8 (La memoire collective du riz-8) 82x93cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz 1993

Rice Consciousness Series No. 7 (La memoire collective du riz-7) 82x93cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz 1993

Rice Consciousness Series No. 6 (La memoire collective du riz-6) 82x93cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz 1993

Rice Consciousness Series No. 5 (La memoire collective du riz-5) 114x146cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz 1989-90

Rice Consciousness Series No. 4 (La memoire collective du riz-4) 114x146cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz 1989-90

Rice Consciousness Series No. 3 (La memoire collective du riz-3) 95.5x65cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz 1989-90

Rice Consciousness Series No. 2 (La memoire collective du riz-2) 89.5x44.5cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz 1989-90

Rice Consciousness Series No. 1 (La memoire collective du riz-1) 33.3x34.5cm Acrylic and rice Acrylique et riz 1989

Chen Chi-Hsiang - The Collective Memory of Rice: We live in the world, knowing the importance of food as a necessity of life, sustaining our existence. Due to differences in human regions, environments, and climates, regional customs vary; thus, food constitutes these conditions and is culture itself. Food affects human physique, constituting the vitality of matter, specializing into cultural essence, and further influencing human consciousness of existence. My artistic creation is founded on food culture, rooted in the essence of anthropology. What kind of food? Coming from the East, especially Northeast or Southeast Asia, our basic food is "rice." We grew up eating rice; from this food, I experienced the essence of culture, and from this material, I delved into its spirit. As artists, we know creation is based on material, and only through various materials can thoughts be conveyed, thereby manifesting art through matter. Thus, I chose "rice," the most basic food for Asians, as my fundamental creative element. Through this linguistic transmission—rice ground becomes grain, grain cooked becomes rice, rice boiled again becomes porridge—I move from material manifestation to essential transformation. Using rice as alchemy for art, I summarized three themes to explore its mysteries: the collective memory of rice, the collective consciousness of rice, and the collective history of rice. From the formation of memory, I constructed rice paintings, then built with painting, extending from two-dimensional painting to three-dimensional space, and further to objects. Seeking diverse aspects of art, I displayed the various possibilities of rice, presenting states of memory, consciousness, and history as fully as possible. Rice is not just a material but a culture, and another (unique) spiritual aspect of humanity. Rice is not only a symbol but also has substantial value and stories of blood and tears. In deeply researching this material, I realized the essence of consciousness, moving from external phenomena to internal essential revelation, forming ontological visual language, displaying the unique southern landscape, emitting a unique flavor and the unique spirit of "rice." January 1993 Paris