Artists
Photo Credit: NIU Chun-Chiang
CHEN Wan-ling
CHEN Wan-ling
| Location | France / Paris |
|---|---|
| Residency | Cité Internationale des Arts |
| Year of the Grant | 2011 |
| Work | WEEKENDHAUS-PARIS: UNE JOURNÉE DE LA VIE |
| Personal Website | CHEN Wan-ling's Personal Website |
Artist Statement:
My time at Cité International des Arts spanned two seasons, from summer to winter. Different seasons were marked by different days, and we lived our days in our own ways. Simply allowing time to pass by was something fresh that I’d never experienced in my hometown before. The most common ways to move around in Paris were walking, biking, taking the subway, or taking the bus. Different methods of moving about allowed one to see the different sides of Paris and encounter different events in the city. It was a unique visual experience. I interacted with the city through ordinary everyday activities and awed at the wonderful union of time and external space.
Our senses to time and space come from our own unique experiences. My work is inspired by my experiences moving around in a city through day and night, on a train, a bus, a bike, or on my feet. I would make models of the locations, people, vehicles, things, and etc. that I encounter and align them together. This playful act allows time and space fragments in a city to be reorganized and reconstructed, resulting in a new space that houses symbols and signs to imply a city.
Paris, a city with an abundance of time, provides artists with unlimited materials of all sorts - whether be it the historical vestiges, modern architecture, traditional crafts and materials, or contemporary media. Most importantly, it is an accepting city with diversity in which any form of art could be developed. The most precious thing about being an artist here was being able to experience the freedom and acceptance of the city.