02 (SOLO Exhibition by XIAO XULIN)

假敘事之擺與靜態蒙太奇 - 肖旭琳的並置畫 (郭鴻蔚)

圖像是一種很敘事的表像。它從一個有時間延伸的事件裡停在了被截取的那個平面上。但卻因為有各種內容而產生敘事。不過圖像僅僅只是一個載面。圖像所顯示的資訊並不能還原現場本身的情節。那時所產生的敘事是一種個人編造出來的假敘事。而這種武斷的假敘事實際上是建立在每個人不同的認知結構和知識系統的基礎上，十分人性化的差異性產物。各種以人為單位的假敘事之間的差異性來自於不同的教育和經歷，在視覺到思維判斷過程中，所建造的不同的經驗體系的差異。由於受到差異性以及由此差異性產生的各種假敘事之間的趣味勾引，肖旭林開始在平面上製造看似無關卻暗地私通的並置畫，並由視覺經驗到邏輯判斷上，用此挑逗觀者無意識且脆弱的編造能力。

 

並置實際上是肖很暴力的構建方法。這種構建實際上是在質疑敘事的產生，甚至以讓觀者自建敘事的方式消解敘事。他的圖像實際沒有任何出處上真實的關聯。他給出的圖像往往具有各種刺點，但又讓人感覺麻木。這些圖像或者暴力，或者色情，或者好看，或者充滿政治色彩，或者日常得不能再普通。

 

他說，每天，每個人，坐在電腦前，海量的圖片從每個人的視網膜上劃過。留下一些痕跡，讓每個人各自利用腦中的工具，那些認知經驗，去測試這些圖片的真假，刺激性，以及裡面潛在的觀者自身的共鳴。這基本上是本雅明對圖像刺點的定義。本雅明認為圖像和人發生關係，是因為圖像中存在一種刺點，這種刺點能喚起觀看圖像的人自身相通的經驗。而並置，這種無厘頭的暴力手段，似乎是對玩弄刺點的放大。人的經驗不僅僅是在一個圖像上工作，而是在兩個或幾個圖像間擺動。這個擺動，一個並看不見的動作，讓人開始虛假的情節關聯。這種情節關聯，甚至就是靜態的蒙太奇。而這種無聊的並置，甚至可以成為每個人內心潛意識的放大鏡。每個人以自己的經驗開始串聯圖像的資訊，並且規劃出自以為最合理的，自己希望的邏輯。然後，這些平面成為鏡子，而那些圓框裡裝滿了為心所造的各種關係。

 

肖的繪製過程和他作品本身的反敘事是一致的。他沒有去塑造出一個形體，空間，以及時間。他把圖像上的一切看成是一些抽象的不規則有色塊狀物，然後很冷靜的在畫布上編排。他只是思考在平面上怎樣去拼湊筆觸來填滿一個很好看的形狀，而對究竟是在畫什麼漠不關心。他似乎在畫出能指，而不是所指。或者，他僅僅在玩耍筆觸，這比塑造形體要更有快感得多。在後來的幾幅作品中他無意的加入一些白色的排筆短排出的線狀物，似乎是潛在的刻意製造一種紙張的褶皺感去打破那些不同的形狀。 

假敘事之擺與靜態蒙太奇，這就是肖旭琳用以反敘事的並置畫。

 

‘The pendulous shifting between the false narrative and the static Montage - Juxtaposition painting by Xiao Xulin

 

Image is very narrative itself. It halts a continuing incident and stays at an intercepted plane and where with its various contents to constructs narrative. The depicted scene cannot be resumed to this original plot. Therefore, the narrative itself is only a false narrative fabricated by people. This arbitrary false narrative is actually based on the varied cognitive structure and knowledge among people. Different human-based narratives come from the experiences and education background from visual thinking to judgment. Due to the differences, and the seducement from the various false narratives, Xiao Xulin starts to create these juxtaposition paintings which are ‘seemingly unrelated yet slyly connected’in order to provoke audience’s unconscious fabricating capacity on visual experience and logic judgment.

 

Juxtaposition is actually a very violent construction method. This kind of construction is in fact questioning the existence of the narratives, and invites audience to dispel the narratives by ‘self-narratives’. There is no actual linkage of the image and truth. What he presents is full of variety of stimulation which makes people feel numb towards the images. These images may be violent, pornographic, good-looking, full of political overtones, or as ordinary as it could be.

 

He said that everyone is sitting in front of a computer every day with flood of images flashing in their eye. The traces left behind can make people test the authenticity, irritation as well as the potential resonance of these pictures by their own minds or the cognitive experience. This is essentially Benjamin’s definition of image stimulation. From Benjamin’s point of view, people have relations with image due to the inside stimulation which can arouse people’s shared experience. Juxtaposition as a nonsensical means of violence enlarges the joke of that stimulation. These shared experiences are not only within an image, but also swinging between two or more images. This invisible movement makes people begin to plot a false association. Such plot association is a static Montage. Such senseless juxtaposition becomes the magnifying glass of people’s inner subconscious. Everyone connects image information by using their own experiences, and constructs the most reasonable and hopefully most logical meaning to their own. Afterwards, plane becomes mirror, and the round frames are filled with utopian relationships of the artist.

 

Same in his work, there is a sense of anti-narrative in Xiao’s drawing process. He does not intent to create a physical time and space. He imagines everything on the canvas as some irregular color grids, and rearranges them rationally. He is just thinking how to put the brushstrokes into a good-looking shape, ignoring what the painting subject is. He seems to draw the possible signifier rather the exact signified. Perhaps, he is just playing with strokes, which may be more pleasurable than molding the object. In his latest works, he unconsciously added the white folding textural strokes intended to break the different forms in the painting.

 

‘The pendulous shifting between the false narrative and the static Montage’ that is the anti- narrative juxtaposition painting of Xiao Xulin. (Guo Hongwei 2008)