Engraving Memories III — Narrative of Tokens

Author: Yang, Pei-Chen

It has been almost four years since my last sole exhibition “Engraving Memories II.” Instead of being lazy, I work slower than my average work speed in an imperceptible manner. I am always thinking how to make my artworks more “realistic.” So, I originally intended to hold my third sole exhibition in 2014, and it is now delayed for almost two years.

I used “work,” instead of “creation,” to describe my situation is because that I never regard myself is creating something. I have always used carving knives to represent existing objects so as to either profiling other people or stating myself. From the behavioral perspective, it may be similar to photographing, with the difference in procedures, timing and techniques required to form images. As for the results, every wood sculpture pieces have been represented and pinned some certain emotions, implications, and even symbolic meaning of tokens.

The artwork “Bag No. 16” presented in this exhibition was inspired by the Boston bag of Mr. Li, Ying-Tang who pushed the construction of the Xiluo Bridge and also a pioneering politician in the early Taiwanese history. The original Boston bag is offered by Mr. Li’s daughter, Ms. Li, Ya-Rong. In 1946, when Mr. Li served as the deputy town chief of Xiluo Township and the legislator of Tainan County, he urged the Taiwan Provincial Government to complete the pending bridge foundation over the Zhuoshui River constructed during the Japanese Colonial Period. However, due to the outbreak of the 228 Event, the proposal went unheeded. Even so, Mr. Li kept pushing the proposal by presenting the petition to Mr. Chiang Kai-Shek, fund raising and applying for US Aids. Finally, the construction of the Xiluo Bridge resumed and completed in1953. At that time, the Xiluo Bridge was the second largest bridge of the world, followed by the Golden Gate Bridge in the US City of San Francisco, California and also the largest bridge in the Far East. The Xiluo Bridge can be regarded as the most important public work in Taiwan.

As described by Ms. Li, Ya-Rong, when Mr. Li met the President, Mr. Chiang, Kei-Shek, he put the resumption petition and design layout of the Xiluo Bridge in the bag. This old and functional bag carried the political career life of Mr. Li who devoted his patriotic life to the public and love the country, witnessing the unforgettable and precious history.