Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts

Introduction

"The Beheaded Stream Art Project" has been in progress since 2017, utilising various forms of discourse production to explore the interplay between creative and research practices in the domain of "project-based art". On the one hand, the project selects the border area and regional communities of the original Han people in the low-elevation mountainous areas of northern Taiwan as a context for connection, investigation, and cultural practice. Employing methods such as images, cartographies, and mediumship, the project centres its attention on the non-human entities beneath distinct historical memories and cosmologies. On the other hand, the project takes discourse production and research publishing mechanisms in academic fields as its fieldwork site. Through forms such as journals, lectures, and seminars, it explores the intersection of contemporary art projects and academic domains, and engages in imaginative and speculative considerations of the connections among different disciplines.

This exhibition presents the approach of a project to research and knowledge production. On the one hand, drawing on the headless ghosts that emerged from the history of ethnic conflicts resulting from the practice of "headhunting" as a reference, the project employs "ghosts,” an object that is devoid of conscious thought, permeating the artist’s series of creation and research practices. Attempting to respond to and reflect on the local economic knowledge conditions of "artistic research" in actuality, along with its interferences with the academic frontiers of the ineffable in praxis, while surreptitiously incorporating supernatural elements and questioning normative concerns within the realm of discourse formation. On the other hand, from the perspective that knowledge is migratory and cross-cutting — linking the low-elevation mountains area, the research field, the textual space, and the exhibition venue — this project grounds itself in the interdependent relationship between "knowledge indexing of creative concept" and the "practical advancement of discourse." It leads to the sustainable development of diverse forms of knowledge and artistic practice

Introduction

"The Beheaded Stream Art Project" has been in progress since 2017, utilising various forms of discourse production to explore the interplay between creative and research practices in the domain of "project-based art". On the one hand, the project selects the border area and regional communities of the original Han people in the low-elevation mountainous areas of northern Taiwan as a context for connection, investigation, and cultural practice. Employing methods such as images, cartographies, and mediumship, the project centres its attention on the non-human entities beneath distinct historical memories and cosmologies. On the other hand, the project takes discourse production and research publishing mechanisms in academic fields as its fieldwork site. Through forms such as journals, lectures, and seminars, it explores the intersection of contemporary art projects and academic domains, and engages in imaginative and speculative considerations of the connections among different disciplines.

This exhibition presents the approach of a project to research and knowledge production. On the one hand, drawing on the headless ghosts that emerged from the history of ethnic conflicts resulting from the practice of "headhunting" as a reference, the project employs "ghosts,” an object that is devoid of conscious thought, permeating the artist’s series of creation and research practices. Attempting to respond to and reflect on the local economic knowledge conditions of "artistic research" in actuality, along with its interferences with the academic frontiers of the ineffable in praxis, while surreptitiously incorporating supernatural elements and questioning normative concerns within the realm of discourse formation. On the other hand, from the perspective that knowledge is migratory and cross-cutting — linking the low-elevation mountains area, the research field, the textual space, and the exhibition venue — this project grounds itself in the interdependent relationship between "knowledge indexing of creative concept" and the "practical advancement of discourse." It leads to the sustainable development of diverse forms of knowledge and artistic practice

About the Artist

Liang Ting-Yu (b. 1994, Taiwan) received his master’s degree in trans-disciplinary arts from Taipei National University of Arts. Studies and creates works that focused on the development and practice of project-based art, the methodology of ghostly discourse, problematic constructions, and related topics, as well as on the issues of panpsychism and aboriginal history writing in the trend of late historical transformation justice and inhumanity. Liang’s practice focuses on integrating regional investigations and studies with project-based art actions and mixed media art. He examines issues related to historical archives, and ethnic relations, and has recently expanded into exploring archives and local myths and legends. Some article was previously published in “Chung Wai Literary Monthly”, “Router: A Journal of Cultural Studies”, and “Journal National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts”. His group shows include Taiwan Biennial (2022), National Center of Photography and Images (2021), MOCA Taipei (2020). In recent years, he has devoted himself to developing complex presentation methods for art projects by means of exhibitions, seminars, workshops, research teams, paper discussions, and other social presentations.

About the Artist

Liang Ting-Yu (b. 1994, Taiwan) received his master’s degree in trans-disciplinary arts from Taipei National University of Arts. Studies and creates works that focused on the development and practice of project-based art, the methodology of ghostly discourse, problematic constructions, and related topics, as well as on the issues of panpsychism and aboriginal history writing in the trend of late historical transformation justice and inhumanity. Liang’s practice focuses on integrating regional investigations and studies with project-based art actions and mixed media art. He examines issues related to historical archives, and ethnic relations, and has recently expanded into exploring archives and local myths and legends. Some article was previously published in “Chung Wai Literary Monthly”, “Router: A Journal of Cultural Studies”, and “Journal National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts”. His group shows include Taiwan Biennial (2022), National Center of Photography and Images (2021), MOCA Taipei (2020). In recent years, he has devoted himself to developing complex presentation methods for art projects by means of exhibitions, seminars, workshops, research teams, paper discussions, and other social presentations.

Works