Tainan Art Horizon Gallery - Cross-disciplinary Fusion Exhibition - Invitation Card for 'Imprints of the Soul'
A scene from the Tainan Art Horizon Gallery - Cross-disciplinary Fusion Exhibition: modern furniture design by Su in the foreground, paintings by Chen Qixiang on the left, and relief works by Yang Qiuxiang on the right

Chen Chi-Hsiang's painting "Flowers in a Mirror, Moon on the Water" 100x100 cm, created in 2009, acrylic.

The group exhibition "Soul Imprint" by Chen Chi-Hsiang and Yang Chiu-Hsiang continues to unfold: extending from Chiayi to Tainan, on display at the Tainan Art Skyline Gallery from February 6th to March 31st. The group exhibition at the Chiayi Fengshan Yunshui Studio continues until February 28th.

The encounters of life, beginning from the tangible existence of living, unfold into an endless spiritual journey. Throughout the searching and seeking of life, there is an intent to glimpse the true self. The world is like a dream, like an illusion, seemingly real and seemingly false. Yet when the false is taken as true, it also seems real; when the true is taken as false, it is also false. True and false, false and true, like flowers in a mirror, the moon on the water—the substance and emptiness of life are like an illusion. You and I, within time and space and beyond, are all woven "dreams." Life is as real as a dream; the true reality of a dream is like the existence of life.

The exhibition theme originates from the film "Scream of the Ants" by the renowned Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf: "I crossed seven seas, climbed seven mountains, walked through all the valleys, traversed vast plains, experienced all seasons, traveled across the world, and when I finally returned home, I was astonished to find that the whole world was in my garden, in the dewdrop on a single leaf." This made me more certain of the wondrous subtlety of all things in life. We all cross mountains and oceans, searching far and wide, never imagining that life's most beautiful scenery is hidden within the personal backyard garden of our own lives. Indeed! The realm arises from the mind—this is life's most beautiful and most enchanting spiritual origin landscape. This is what the director intended to respond to his own explorations on life's journey, and from this, it refers to our personal artistic inquiries.

Artist Chen Chi-Hsiang, residing in Paris, has centered his recent creations around the "Flowers in a Mirror, Moon on the Water" series, using painting to metaphorize the illusory nature of existing things, like flowers in a mirror or the moon on the water. From the transformations of nature and worldly affairs to the introspection of life itself, all are thus naturally evolving and vanishing. The idiom "flowers in a mirror, moon on the water; floating life is like a dream" is precisely a portrayal of life, reminding us how, within numerous phenomena of life's situations, to part the clouds and see the moon—to glimpse the essence. Art is also a clear mirror of life, reflecting the creator's state of mind and condition. Such life itself is an exceedingly clear painting; within its emptiness, it allows people's colorful creations and transformations. Life is even more like a clear mirror, constantly reflecting the state of life. Creation itself is the projection of life experience, reflecting life's perceptions and understandings.

Yang Chiu-Hsiang is a versatile artist engaged in diverse creative practices: besides sculptural art creation, she also practices creative cuisine, gardening, and floral art, etc. Her cross-disciplinary insights are manifested in her living space, highlighting her temperament and the brilliance of her life. Precisely because she is not formally trained, her sculptural works appear even more unique. As a female artist, the female body naturally becomes her subject of focus and expression, thoroughly mastering the extraordinary qualities and soul of women.

Her recent works are even more captivating, weaving another true "dream" of her own life. She says, "In the universe, the dream acts as the source of everything. I observe that in the external world, the sources of almost all life look remarkably similar, nothing more than oval or exclamation mark shapes. From the human body to plant seeds, from animal sperm to plant stamens, they are almost identical. The creation of the universe is actually not that complicated. Dream—this series of playful, improvisational works, is an exclamation mark enveloping another exclamation mark, one after another exclamation mark. This signifies that the source of everything gives birth to the source of life, and the source of life continuously, endlessly produces exclamation marks. This world is composed of countless, countless exclamation marks." She intends to trace the origin of life through "Dream," penetrating each state of life, engraving step-by-step spiritual imprints, "because between my two palms is my universe."

This is not a dream, but the entirety of existence.