Phantom landscape-EI Dorado

『Humans have been pursuing ideal countries since ancient times, "EI Dorado" is one of them.』

The Spanish conquerors in the 16th century believed that there was a new continent on the other side of the sea, so they actively went to explore the legendary "El Dorado". The origin of this legend comes from the Muiscas of Bogotá. Every year, the Muisca will be led by the chief to hold the annual human sacrifice at Guatavita Lake. They would put gold powder on the person’s body as an oblation to the god of lake. Then the Spaniards distorted and exaggerated the story. The legend of "El Dorado" was born. It was also recorded in the World Book Encyclopedia by later generations.

When the world is in the Age of Discovery, European countries take exploring the other side of the ocean as the ultimate goal, and embark on journeys one after another to pursue the unpredictable phantom world.

Such an unknown world just like a phantom that people have been pursuing all the time, full of realities and illusions that no one knows. During the preparation of the exhibition, Atsushi Mizutani consulted a lot of relevant materials about "El Dorado", whether in the World Book Encyclopedia or the information via Internet, these historical materials all show overblown facts.

From the historical data, "El Dorado" seems to have existed but it is also like a phantom. And it has moderately become a fact between real and fake.

The theme of this exhibition is centered on the world as a phantom, and discusses the violence that arises in the pursuit of happiness and peace from individuals to countries. Atsushi Mizutani's new work "Phantom Weapons" series is inspired by the legendary weapons that are famous and widely used in the search for "El Dorado", and conveys the artist's reflection on the exchange of violence for peace by humans. In his new works, Atsushi Mizutani tried to mix his personal emotions through his own imagination, watching the phantom landscape in front of him—Taiwan.