Zhan Wang, Forms in Flux No.17 (2017). Fluid dynamics, 3D print, hammered stainless steel, blowtorch-flame surface, edition 1/4. 183 x 75 x 85 cm. 72 1/16 x 29 1/2 x 33 7/16 inches. Courtesy Eslite Gallery.
LAI Chih-Sheng, 8cm inclination, 2017, Installation, Based on Site Size
LAI Chih-Sheng’s latest solo exhibition “Between Dog and Wolf” features approximately 10 new works ranging from paintings, sculptures, videos to installations. The exhibition title is drawn from the French saying that refers to the specific time just before dawn or dusk when everything is shrouded by dim light. Looking at an approaching silhouette, one is uncertain if it is a dog or wolf, friend or foe. With this as his theme, Lai Chih-Sheng proposes different approaches to look at ordinary things, captures memorable moments in daily living, and imagines the no longer imagined.
LAI Chih-Sheng, Falling, 2017, Video Installation, Loop, Based on Site Size
Falling is about what you see does not exist; what you do not see exists. A moving image of a grill roll-up door that descends endlessly is projected onto an imaginary wall. Because there is no surface to reflect the projection, the image overflows into the void behind the nonexistent wall, so that when we step inside, the grills, slightly out of focus but perpetually rolling down, become a cage, a reminder of the tethers that confine us.
Installation view of Falling, "Lai Chih-Sheng--Between Dog and Wolf", ESLITE GALLERY, Taipei, Taiwan, 2017
LAI Chih-Sheng, Resting on the dust_SL, 2017, Dust, Iron, Aluminium and Concrete, 40x134x42cmx2、6x59x8.5cmx1
Where does it come from, and when did it come about?
Dust is an accumulation of fine particles through time. It is worthless yet found everywhere. This work was made for “Kau-Puê, Mutual Companionship in Near Future: 2017 Soulangh International Contemporary Art Festival,” an exhibition in Tainan, Taiwan. Between 2015 and 2016, Lai asked workers of Soulangh Cultural Park to collect dust as they cleaned the park, and he used that dust to make this work. The aluminum ruler on the wall was a tool he used to smoothen the surface of the benches, and the samples sitting on the ruler show a series of experiments he conducted to test the durability of cement-dust mixture. In the end the benches are made of 35% dust.
Dust, hidden in the park corners, is a silent traveler that circles the site in procession.
Lai hopes to transform or memorialize this unwanted thing from daily life to tender a subtle way to experience time and space. By cementing it in two benches and inviting visitors to come for respite, it becomes a warm and friendly sculpture.
Installation view of Resting on the dust_SL, 2017, "Lai Chih-Sheng--Between Dog and Wolf", ESLITE GALLERY, Taipei, Taiwan, 2017
LAI Chih-Sheng, White Painting, 2017, Acrylic on Canvas, 322x190cm
An achromatic color, white is without hue and because of that it is often overlooked. However, to Lai, white can be elegant and when looking closer, there could be myriad variations to be discovered in the white paint of White Painting. By placing it on the floor instead of hanging it, the wall is given a respite from its obligation or duty.
Installation view of White Painting, "Lai Chih-Sheng--Between Dog and Wolf", ESLITE GALLERY, Taipei, Taiwan, 2017
LAI Chih-Sheng, Befor the Present, 2017, Moving images,Loop
Before the Present is the reversal of a rotating image that indicates waiting. Made into an infinite loop, the reversed loading turns into an expression of loss, pointing to not only the future but also the eternal lapse of time.
Installation view of Befor the Present , "Lai Chih-Sheng--Between Dog and Wolf", ESLITE GALLERY, Taipei, Taiwan, 2017
LAI Chih-Sheng, 30 cm, 2017, Polyvinyl Chloride, 3x48.2x0.2cm
30cm is a ruler that had been stretched and thus has lost its function as an instrument for measurement. No longer a useful tool, the only way to approach the ruler would be to appreciate it as is.
30cm (detail)
LAI Chih-Sheng, 8cm inclination, 2017, Installation, Based on Site Size
Occupying the largest space in the gallery (3.5x7.2x21.3m), 8cm Inclination makes the floor appear erroneously skewed after Lai Chih-Sheng “fixed” the 8cm-gap under the walls by giving them a trim.
LAI Chih-Sheng, 8cm inclination, 2017, Installation, Based on Site Size
Born in Taipei in 1971, Lai creates a minimalist, atypical reality within everyday circumstances. His artwork has a site-specific quality, involving concepts of labor and consumption, and raises questions about art and its production, while also drawing on his 13 years of experience as a professional bricklayer. His recent work responds to the contemporary art world’s reliance on display systems and explores subtle sensitivity in a self-referential way.
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Exhibition: Lai Chih-Sheng—Between Dog and Wolf
Date: September 2nd –October 8th, 2017
Venue: ESLITE GALLERY ︳5F, No. 11, Songgao Rd., Taipei 11073, Taiwan
Hours: 11:00—19:00, Monday through Sunday
