版畫室與標本室——的確是存在於二十世紀

The print studio and specimen room–did exist in 20th century

 

2020 / 版畫裝置、草人裝置、標本裝置

2020 / print installation, straw man installation, specimen installation

 

2018年底，由一群創作者、研究者和各行業勞動者組成，以「安撫被遺忘的魂魄和重振當代人的靈魂」為宗旨而成立的「安魂工作隊」，在2019綠島人權藝術季中，以〈三個房間〉展現了團隊的藝術宣言。

 

今年，安魂工作隊提出新作〈版畫室與標本室〉，直接點名使用兩個房間展示的用意，以及分別採行的視角：版畫室呈現的是民眾的視角，標本室則是國家的視角，藉此呈現白色恐怖的相異視角與差別敘事。子標題〈的確是存在於二十世紀〉來自於1952年6月18日被槍決的內壢國小教師邱興生的遺書。他在給母親的遺書中寫道：「就是二十餘年，真如一場之夢消逝地乾淨了。但是你兒興生這人，的確是存在於二十世紀，死於一九五二年六月十七日，也有快樂的、苦痛的、努力的，最少是在世上有做事的人。」其中「的確存在於二十世紀」的字句，深深觸動安魂工作隊。於是，以此作為子標題。

 

安魂工作隊的這件作品，在建構關於白色恐怖的敘事上，強調倫理的維度，對於他人「被屠殺、被槍決」的創傷，以代理敘事的方式讓主體復位;或者說，以重建、新造「版畫室」的方式，重新編織全新的集體敘事。同時，以「標本室」刻意裁切事實和隱匿真相，潛藏暴力性質的國家敘事，作為對照。讓被隱藏的「也有快樂的、苦痛的、努力的，最少是在世上有做事的人」的生命痕跡得以顯現，重新獲得存在的證明，並從包含義務與責任的倫理維度，建構屬於集體記憶的共同敘事。

 

The Libera work-gang was founded at the end of 2018 by a group of people working in the fields of art, academia, and various other industries, and its mission is “to console forgotten souls and to revive the spirits of contemporary people.” The artwork, 3 Rooms, was presented in the 2019 Green Island Human Rights Arts Festival as the collective’s art manifesto.

 

For this year, the Libera work-gang is presenting its latest work, The Print Studio and Specimen Room, with two rooms chosen with specific intentions assigned to each. Unique perspectives are opted for each room, with the Print Studio showing the perspective of the people and the state perspective in the Specimen Room. The arrangement is used to present different points of view and disparaging narratives for White Terror. The subheading, Did Exist in 20th Century, is from the final letter written by CHIU Hsing-Sheng before he was executed on June 18th, 1952. CHIU, who was a teacher at the Nei-Li Primary School, wrote in this final letter to his mother, “My twenty-some odd years are wiped clean just like a dream. But your son, Hsing-Sheng, truly did exist in the 20th century and died on June 17th, 1952. I had joy, pain, and worked hard, and for the very least, did something while alive in this world.” The phrase, “did exist in the 20th century” echoed deeply with the Libera Work-gang and became the subheading of this artwork.

 

This artwork by the Libera work-gang is built on a White Terror narrative, with emphasis placed on ethical dimension and the trauma of seeing someone else get executed and killed. It uses an approach of narrative through agency to reinstate the subject. In other words, through reconstructing, recreating the Print Studio, a new collective narrative is composed. On the other hand, the Specimen Room is where reality is cutoff and truth is concealed, with the state narrative which holds violent tendencies presented for contrast. It brings to light the hidden marks and imprints in life that were made by the one that “had joy, pain, and worked hard, and for the very least, did something while alive in this world.” It allows his existence to be revalidated, with a collective memory and communal narrative formed based on the ethical dimension of duty and responsibility.