CULTURES FERMENTED INTERACTIVE ARTWORK
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BEHIND THE WORK
In Asia, the tradition of pickling ingredients in ceramic urns exists in many societies. The process of pickling can be used to describe the way culture, history, and people have been brought together, continuously interacting and reacting, then fermenting over time, gradually evolving into the Taiwan and South Korea we know today. Visual artist Cheng Chin-wen, has created an artwork inspired by this concept of fermentation, depicting many prominent characteristics of culture and significant social events in Taiwan and South Korea.
If the development of the two countries' cultures is to be likened to the process of fermentation, Confucianism is surely one of the base ingredients, as is the history Japanese occupation. Both countries have experienced similar changes in society; in both urns, we can also add several nationwide social movements: the Taiwanese people's petition to establish a Taiwanese Parliament, and South Korea's March 1st Movement were both pivotal political movements that resisted Japanese colonial rule. The struggle against authoritarian governments during martial law in both countries such as Taiwan’s Formosa Incident in 1979 and the 1989 Gwangju Uprising in Korea is another layer in the pickling urn. Both urns contain the taste of blood and sweat; fermented with the people's perseverance, there is also the sweetness of democracy and freedom.
While the urns for the two countries hold many similar historical ingredients, the ingredients of language, religious beliefs, and social values produce two distinct flavours. South Korea's #MeToo movement in 2018 which kicked off the #EscapeTheCorset social media revolution highlighted the gender inequality in South Korean society. Around the same time, the LGBT+ rights movement in Taiwan gained momentum when the Constitutional Court made the historical ruling that barring same-sex couples the right to marry was unconstitutional, marking a step forwards towards social equality. Despite sharing many historical influences, Taiwan and South Korea each have their own secret ingredient inside the pickling urn, found in the differences of their everyday society and culture.
As both these urns continue to ferment, let us taste the change as the people of both countries continue to build a better society!
