Ruo-Hsin Wu
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Sunlight, Air, and Water
Solo Exhibition / 2022
吳若昕 Ruo-Hsin Wu 個展 「陽光、空氣與水 Gentle Like Water 」，甘榜格南，新加玻，2022
Cuturi Gallery 很榮幸呈現《Sunlight, Air and Water》，這是台灣藝術家吳若昕（Ruo-Hsin Wu，1993年生於台灣）的個展。此次展覽中，藝術家帶來 8 件全新繪畫作品，探索她童年時期不同片段對成長至今的深刻影響。透過這些畫作，她傳達了關於悲傷、哀悼與希望的情感。
所有作品皆起始於童年記憶中的一個虛構角色。吳若昕談到童年是人生中極其重要的階段，這段經歷形塑了我們的個性，決定了最終成為什麼樣的人。藝術家分享道：「孩提時代，我們是純真的，會感受到長大後不再有的興奮感。那也是一段我們可能遭遇創傷，而這些創傷將伴隨我們一生的時期。我藉由繪畫去反思這些經驗。」
每幅畫作都設定於深色背景之中，角色則是由藝術家以手指而非畫筆描繪而成。她提到：「透過自調顏料並用手指作畫，我能為角色創造出一種半透明的效果。這種手法結合深色背景，使黑暗中綻放出光亮。」除了膚色的細膩呈現外，藝術家特別強調角色的雙眼。「我希望他們感覺是活著的，但又十分微妙。我想讓我的角色隱藏情緒，難以被讀懂；讓觀者去凝視、去被挑動。」
展覽標題《Sunlight, Air and Water》取自同名畫作。藝術家在生命中的困頓時期，曾在大自然中尋求慰藉。「當我在哀傷或痛苦之中時，我常常像個孩子般地想：為什麼我的生活不能像植物一樣，只需要陽光、空氣和水就足夠了…」在這幅畫中，藝術家描繪了一位角色，手中抱著一個看似寵物箱的物品。箱內躺著一個身體，與草地融為一體，與自然界達到完全的共生狀態。
另一幅作品《Lizard》（蜥蜴）則觸及另一段童年記憶。「有一次，我在學校撿到一隻蜥蜴，正抱著它時，一群小孩搶走了蜥蜴。他們把玩後將它弄死了。這段經歷令我非常受創，內心充滿了罪惡感。如果當時我沒有發現這隻蜥蜴會不會更好…」蜥蜴如今已成為吳若昕創作中經常出現的動物，成為她向這隻小生命致敬的方式。
Cuturi Gallery is delighted to present Sunlight, Air and Water, a solo exhibition by Taiwanese artist Ruo-Hsin Wu (b.1993, Taiwan). In this new series of works, the artist presents 8 new paintings which explore different moments of her childhood that have marked her through to adulthood. Through her paintings she conveys her emotions of grief, sadness, and hope.
All paintings start from an imaginary character from childhood memories. Ruo speaks of childhood as an important period in human life, where experiences shape personalities and who we end up being. The artists shares that “as children we are innocent, we have feelings of excitement that we no longer feel as adults. It is also a time where we can experience traumatic experiences that live with us forever. I use painting to reflect on some of these experiences”.
Always set in dark backgrounds, each character is painted using her fingers instead of a brush. Ruo mentions that “By mixing my own colours and using my fingers, I am able to achieve a translucid effect for my characters. This, coupled with the dark background creates light out of the darkness”. In addition to the skin tone, the artist emphasizes her characters’ eyes. “I want them to feel alive, but in a very subtle way. I want my characters to hide their emotions, to be hard to read; to engage and provoke the audience”.
The title of the exhibition derives from a painting called Sunlight, Air and Water. In difficult periods of her life, she took refuge in nature. “When in grief or pain, I often wondered as a child, why my life could not rely simply on basic needs, like the needs of plants. All they need is sunlight, air and water…”. In this painting, the artist paints one of her characters holding what looks like a pet box. Inside is a body lying on the grass, in total symbiosis with the natural world.
A second painting, Lizard, speaks to another childhood memory. “I was once holding a lizard I found at my school, and a group of other kids just took it from me. They played with it and killed it. I was very traumatized by this experience and felt a strong feeling of guilt. What if I had not found that lizard…” The lizard has now become a common animal depicted in Ruo’s practice; her way of paying homage to this small animal.