(Not) Just a Historical Document
Hong Kong-Taiwan Video Art 1980-1990s presents a selection of pioneering video art by Taiwanese and Hong Kong artists that reflect upon a time of social and political upheaval. The 80’s and 90’s were marked by a number of transformative events, including the lifting of martial law in Taiwan, the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing and the British handover of Hong Kong to China. It was also a time when video editing technologies were becoming more accessible commercially, creating an upsurge of new experimentation in new media art. Ellen Pau, Yau Ching and Wong Chi-fai’s. Here’s Looking at You, Kid! is a mock karaoke video that remixes footage of TV commercials, British government footage and videos of Hong Kong under Japanese rule. Wang Chun-chieh and Cheang Shu-lee’s How Was History Wounded is a half-hour video about three workers in a news studio commenting on the issues of state media control, democracy and consumerism as news about the Tiananmen Square Massacre is broadcast on TV. Green Team’s Green TV’s Inaugural Film is a recording of the premiere broadcast of Taiwan’s first independent TV channel Green TV. The channel was set up in a time when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had a monopoly over Taiwanese TV. Overall, the show encourages visitors to consider the state of affairs today by reviewing the social climate of our recent past.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei MOCA, Taipei), 39 Changan W Rd, Taipei City
(2018-04-15)www.mocataipei.org.tw |||