陳儀如 YI-JU CHEN
動物形象的反叛
影像輸出、絹印、襯卡紙、人造動物毛皮、木材、黃銅
七件39x47cm
2022-23
影像輸出、絹印、襯卡紙、人造動物毛皮、木材、黃銅
七件39x47cm
2022-23
The Treachery of Animal Images
Digital Prints, screen prints on colored mat board, faux fur, wood, brass
Each piece 39x47cm
2022-23
「動物形象的反叛」作品名稱挪用自畫家馬格利特（René Magritte）的作品〈形象的背叛（這不是一個煙斗）〉(The Treachery of Images(This is not a pipe))，並擷取電影工業、生物實驗、動物園、馬戲團中「動物明星」的現成影像，透過圖像、文字與物質材料的相互指涉，模糊了動物與其名稱的對應關係。
當我們觀看著一幅「熊」的影像，在我們的認知中直覺聯想到這是一隻熊，在這裡「熊」是人賦予牠的第一次命名。牠背負著人類賦予熊所該展現的的姿態、行為及性格，牠的個體性消失了，被簡化為僅是「熊」這個物種群體的一員，牠的生命歷程並不重要，正如同約翰柏格（John Berger）在〈為何凝視動物？〉（Why Look at Animals?）一文中所說的：「每一隻牛都是（永恆的）牛」（Each ox was Ox.）。於是我企圖在圖像的下方並置了這一段文字「This is not Bear.」(這不是熊) ，並透過一個彷彿紀錄了名人生卒年份的黃銅紀念牌，向觀眾暗示影像中那些動物真實的名字。
這隻熊「Bart」（巴特），這是人類賦予牠的第二次命名。巴特1977年誕生於美國馬里蘭動物園，牠是一位電影演員，同時擔任Vital Ground Foundation──一個動物與生態保護的非營利組織中的親善大使。截至2000年逝世前，巴特演出多部著名的電影、影集與廣告，包含《阿拉斯加之死》、《怪醫杜立德》到《權力遊戲》等等。透過這件作品，我所要探問的正是：這樣的一隻熊，還僅是一隻熊嗎？甚至他真的是一隻我們所認知的熊嗎？我所挪用馬格利特的提問語句，在這件作品中不再只是語言學上的文字遊戲，也展開動物倫理學的思辨當中。
當我們觀看著一幅「熊」的影像，在我們的認知中直覺聯想到這是一隻熊，在這裡「熊」是人賦予牠的第一次命名。牠背負著人類賦予熊所該展現的的姿態、行為及性格，牠的個體性消失了，被簡化為僅是「熊」這個物種群體的一員，牠的生命歷程並不重要，正如同約翰柏格（John Berger）在〈為何凝視動物？〉（Why Look at Animals?）一文中所說的：「每一隻牛都是（永恆的）牛」（Each ox was Ox.）。於是我企圖在圖像的下方並置了這一段文字「This is not Bear.」(這不是熊) ，並透過一個彷彿紀錄了名人生卒年份的黃銅紀念牌，向觀眾暗示影像中那些動物真實的名字。
這隻熊「Bart」（巴特），這是人類賦予牠的第二次命名。巴特1977年誕生於美國馬里蘭動物園，牠是一位電影演員，同時擔任Vital Ground Foundation──一個動物與生態保護的非營利組織中的親善大使。截至2000年逝世前，巴特演出多部著名的電影、影集與廣告，包含《阿拉斯加之死》、《怪醫杜立德》到《權力遊戲》等等。透過這件作品，我所要探問的正是：這樣的一隻熊，還僅是一隻熊嗎？甚至他真的是一隻我們所認知的熊嗎？我所挪用馬格利特的提問語句，在這件作品中不再只是語言學上的文字遊戲，也展開動物倫理學的思辨當中。
The work The Treachery of Animal Images takes its title from the painting The Treachery of Images (This Is Not A Pipe) by the Surrealism artist René Magritte. It captures found photos of “animal celebrities” from the film industry, biological experiments, zoos and circuses, blurring the correspondence between the images and the names of animals through the mutual reference of images, text, and materials.
When we look at the image of a bear, our immediate cognitive association is that it represents Bear. Here, “Bear” is the first name given by humans, carrying the postures, behaviors, and personalities attributed by humans, and its individuality disappears, simplified as a member of the species Bear. Its life history is unimportant, just as John Berger said in Why Look at Animals?, “Each ox was Ox.” Therefore, I juxtaposed the text “This is not Bear” beneath the image and used an engraved brass plaque resembling those recording the birth and death years of celebrities to hint to the viewers the true names of those animals depicted in the photos.
This bear is “Bart,” the second name given by humans. Bart was born in 1977 at the Maryland Zoo in the United States. He was a film actor and also served as an ambassador for the Vital Ground Foundation, a non-profit organization for animal and ecological conservation. Until his passing in 2000, Bart appeared in numerous famous films, TV shows, and advertisements, including The Edge, The Bear and other Hollywood movies. Through this work, my aim is to question: Is this bear merely a bear? Is he even one of the bears in our cognition? The appropriation of Magritte's negative statement in this piece goes beyond linguistic wordplay and involves the realm of animal ethics contemplation.
When we look at the image of a bear, our immediate cognitive association is that it represents Bear. Here, “Bear” is the first name given by humans, carrying the postures, behaviors, and personalities attributed by humans, and its individuality disappears, simplified as a member of the species Bear. Its life history is unimportant, just as John Berger said in Why Look at Animals?, “Each ox was Ox.” Therefore, I juxtaposed the text “This is not Bear” beneath the image and used an engraved brass plaque resembling those recording the birth and death years of celebrities to hint to the viewers the true names of those animals depicted in the photos.
This bear is “Bart,” the second name given by humans. Bart was born in 1977 at the Maryland Zoo in the United States. He was a film actor and also served as an ambassador for the Vital Ground Foundation, a non-profit organization for animal and ecological conservation. Until his passing in 2000, Bart appeared in numerous famous films, TV shows, and advertisements, including The Edge, The Bear and other Hollywood movies. Through this work, my aim is to question: Is this bear merely a bear? Is he even one of the bears in our cognition? The appropriation of Magritte's negative statement in this piece goes beyond linguistic wordplay and involves the realm of animal ethics contemplation.