A piece co-authored by four friends and colleagues, who are artists practicising in different fields and in different countries. Larissa Platz (Curatorial Studies, Zurich), Lucia Salome Granicher (Dramaturgy, Zurich), Ahn Phuong (Intercultural Practices, Vietnam) and myself. This special piece explores the story of a Taiwanese island, its people and their origin, to ask: What is the meaning of a name?
The piece was selected to be published in trans magazin, Zurich (check them out here), in issue 44 called 'LORE'. Trans 44 is about narrated realities, knowledge logistics, about ghosts and angels, and how the unconscious shapes our built environment. Together with the contributors and interviewees we were able to understand some of the many ways lore acts as an agent around us (more about it, here; and the published work, here). Publication in a second magazine is in the works.
** While the first version of this artwork was in the physical form as an exhibit for an exhibition in Taipei, the authors adapted the exhibit into a piece capable of being reproduced in the print media. Further, the first publication is a physical one, I recast the piece, including a cover, in my own editorial style for this space. I also used some of the photographs I had taken on my visit and stay in Orchid Island for the images. The images on the cover are of Orchids that I had taken on my travel to the Peruvean cloud forests in 2023.
Yours, Orchid is an adaptation of the exhibit titled "What's in My Name." It is a work that began with the four artists and friends, a flower, an island of the same name and a collection of explorations, research and stories surrounding them. The collections ended by prompting questions, musings and reflections on and about these stories.
Throughout this journey, the container of stories came to consist of readings, experiences (both old and new, individual and shared), where strong connections between the stories of the flower and a place - land of the people, were discovered. Orchid Island / Pongso no Tao. An exploration of the Orchid became a metaphorical exploration of Orchid Island where the four friends roamed and gathered their stories, and the weaves between narratives of the flower and the place utlimately converged to become one.
Not a 'one' in the sense of a whole story, but a visage consisting of fragments shifting in and out of focus. Several voices, different stories, many theories and studies, telling a story that seem to resonate together, as if floating on the same wave in a large ocean. A story of being claimed (by whom?), being beautified (why?), protected (from whom?) and forgotten (how?), all at the same time. A story of fragmented perceptions and a history with many layers.
The explorations in this artwork questions the very act of name giving. One feels the impulse to protect what one knows and intuitively regards as worthy of protection. This begins with the simple act of giving that 'thing' a name - a recognition.
But 'name giving' is neither a glorifying act of bestowing recognition and value, nor a mere passive simple act to enable identification. It comes cloaked with different intentions, motivations and varied objects. As human nature goes, not all of these are altrutistic. Name-giving often reflects violent acts of claiming, forceful assimilation, imposition of authority and dominion and erasure of intrinsic indentity for import of a new one. Smalls acts contributing to different narratives to serve a purpose. Sometimes the purpose is called protection, but what begs the question is protection from whom, why and how?
In this work, questions of name-giving and classification as acts of ostensible protection, with hidden layers of appropriation, use, objectification and disregard of the needs of the one being protected come to light. Both in case of a flower and a land.
The QR code leads one to an audio compilation, that supplements the authors' "nearby" eye with voices from "next to" and "within" the place that formed the subject matter of their work. It consists of responses and stories shared by several interviewees, from both the Orchid Island and mainland Taiwan, to add further colour to the narratives that this piece tries to explore. Questions of identity, carrying and feeling the weight of a given name, and if there is such a thing as this at all.
