The Scenery of Tsoying

With rich imagination the artist has portrayed his home and studio located in the Tsoying district of Kaohsiung city, Taiwan. In reality a single story building, here it is transformed into a mysterious spiraling multi-floored construction. In the garden the oddly shaped rock also departs from reality, becoming a plant-shaped form. In addition, there is the sudden appearance of images such as a nude man wearing a crown, or Buddha seemingly preaching. Scattered about the picture are elements that deeply resonate with Japanese: the man hammering something to a pine tree, the oldfashioned table and chairs, the paper screen door and bonsai and other plants. The artist, who acquired painting skills through self-study, taps into childhood memory, folk beliefs, hometown scenes and nature as sources for his work. With an abundance of these features mixing reality and fantasy into a 'landscape,' among his works showing a strong sense of narrative, this piece clearly demonstrates the free broadmindedness of his ideas and expression. Looking closely, as a picture within a picture, this piece itself can be seen on the first floor of the building. (RT)