My Fantastic Associations about Hsu Yunghsu’s Latest Works
Rhodes is a magical island of Greece. It is located east of Crete, and just off the coast of Turkey, namely at the margin of the Mediterranean Sea. Its contour and geographical proximity to the continent are highly reminiscent of the characteristics of Taiwan. However, it is only one twenty-fifth as large as Taiwan. Despite its limited geographical scope, birds sing and flowers radiate their fragrance on the island. Jagged rocks that reach a height of more than 1,200 m are thick on the ground. These rocks are mingled with a host of shells, reefs, and skeletons of marine wild-lives, which strongly indicates that Rhodes is an island uplifted from the sea.
Greek mythology recorded that, “Zeus divided the territory up with his kith and kin after he unified the universe. However, Helios (the personification of the Sun and the predecessor of Apollo) did not receive any share of the territory due to his absence from that occasion. Zeus fully understood the significance of the Sun for the survival of everything. As a result, when Helios came back and asked Zeus for an island, Zeus promised to create one for him. Rhode, the Nymph who originally lives in this area under the sea, was therefore uplifted together with the island. Helios fell in love with Rhode at first sight. They got married and have offspring. Helios has industriously driven a golden steeds-drawn chariot across the sky day after day until now. Rhode lives in all sorts of reef caves called Nymphaion on the island. These caves are covered with the fossils of marine wild-lives such as shells and corals.”
I met Hsu Yunghsu on the second day when I came back from Rhodes, at the time when my heart was still lost on the bright and sunny island. On the day when I met the artist, he wore a radiant smile and talked to me: “Hello, my Chinese name is Hsu Yunghsu, and ‘HiOK’ is the articulation of my name in Taiwanese.” His greeting gave me a visceral thrill. The image of Helios flashed in my mind, and then projected itself on the face of the artist who refines ceramics by kilning. The artist’s dazzling facial expressions and wavy hair are strikingly reminiscent of Helios’ (Fig. 1). I was totally bewildered at seeing this scene, as if Helios’ soul underwent a rebirth on Formosa in the other hemisphere of the Earth. Feeling a surge of excitement, I decided to write this article for Hsu by invoking the metaphor of the mythological figure.
The inner meaning of the artist’s name is the Sun. “Hsu,” the last word of his name, refers to nine suns, which may have something to do with the legend of the mythological Chinese archer Houyi who shot down nine suns from the sky. His name has shaped his destiny of being with blaze and heat all his life. He has used HiOK as his English name, and its pronunciation is quite similar to that of Helios. All these coincidences happened before he learned the character of Helios in Greek mythology. Marathon is among the artist’s hobbies in addition to ceramics. This is another incredible coincidence from the perspective of predestination. HiOK illuminates the world by creating large yet thin ceramic works with the spirit of Marathon, just as what Helios does across the sky. These giant spatial objects HiOK made through the monotonous routine of pressing, kneading and rubbing exactly resemble the topographical feature of Rhodes.
HiOK emphasized the corporeality of ceramics when he was describing his ceramic sculptures to me. The corporeality refers to the interaction between the development of the works and the rhythm of the artist’s physical motion during the production process. This is of course an accurate observation on the kingdom of kilning which must be ruled with great physical vigor. Nonetheless, I always feel that this remark reflects more the artist’s view of his own physical labor than the fundamental question of “rebirth.” The rebirth and the representation of arts serve as the indispensable momenta for artistic creation. The process of rebirth usually begins with the elimination of the powerful Self, which is followed by the creation of a new Self through “devotion” and “dedication.” Based on this understanding, to what and for whom has HiOK’s works devoted in their entirety?
Humans usually treat ceramics as vessels. They not only feel proud of having kilning technology for producing ceramics, but also have a rich history of using ceramic vessels to carry objects. Cups, bowls, dishes, vats, among other things, all belong to the category of vessels, while the largest vessels we use are the houses that shelter our bodies, be they ancient caves in the mountains or contemporary soaring buildings and great mansions in cosmopolitan cities. Accordingly, I believe that HiOK actually treated the concept of “vessel” as the point of departure and attempted to open up habitable spaces for the body when he was creating these large-scale ceramic works. The structures of his works resemble clamshells or reefs in terms of texture and form. Their surfaces are rife with concavities and convexities, and their internal and external dimensions are reversed. By imitating the nature’s uncanny craftsmanship such as autopoietic systems and impingement corrosion, HiOK ingeniously created these spaces that allow the viewers to fill in or to explore and let water to trickle or flow. HiOK has charted a challenging path for ceramics-based sculptures and installations, through which he tries to develop the skills as remarkable as those displayed by Richard Serra, whose large-scale assemblies of sheet metal, to the artist’s eye, transcend the limitations of dimensions and techniques. Gazing at the habitable spaces embedded in these large-scale works, or vessels, I deeply felt that they are not so much the sanctuaries or altars that the artist built for himself as the Nymphaions that Helios found for Rhode. In the mythology of Rhodes, Nymphaion is the dwelling of Rhode. Later, the Nymphaion-based custom prevailed in every corner of Greece. When building a city, the Greeks always carved out Nymphaions in natural caves in addition to great temples dedicated to their main deities. Upon finding a mountain cave, the Greeks carved out an altar dedicated to the Nymphs. In other places such as Crete, this kind of caves was dedicated to Eileithyia, the Greek goddess of childbirth and the divine helper of women. Homer described her as “the goddess of the pains of birth.” The altar was half-natural, half-artificial. It served not only as a cistern but also a mythological l’espace féminine, namely a symbol of Rhodes. The psychological archetype of HiOK’s artworks seems to reflect the most primitive state of human civilization, in which the nature and human consciousness of existence struggle with each other. His works resemble not only these caves and altars that their internal and external dimensions are reversed, but also marine playgrounds from which kelp are floating with the current. Moreover, his works remind us of a significant stage before humankind erected the first pillar, at the time when humankind was still inseparable from both the nature and the state of pure chaos. From the contemporary perspective of environment, such quality of his works instead inspires a romantic imagination about a utopia of arts that desperately fights against the irreversibility of human civilization. Carrying the implication of “sustainability” (in terms of pronunciation) which may be an unachievable goal, “Yunghsu,” the two words of the artist’s Chinese name, always represent lofty artistic imaginations and aspirations.
Helios created spaces as sacred as Nymphaions (Fig. 2), and water served as the invisible medium. The trickling water that wears a hole in the stone, the piles of shells, and the reefs that are thick on the ground are all closely related to the image of “water.” Fire as the medium for creating ceramics is also absent in HiOK’s works. Instead, what his works show the viewers is fluidity, as if Nymphs shuttle among the cavities. Greek islands are surrounded by the sea and usually bathed in beautiful sunshine. The only issue they need to worry about is the source of freshwater. As a result, they carefully guard every water-related image. The moist Nymphaions with springs are the favorite hangouts of lithe Nymphs and Rhode; therefore they become the psychological archetype of the island Rhodes. Just like Psyche[1], the Nymph Rhode is the source of feminine power that contrasts the Sun and heat. Therefore, the marriage between Rhode and Helios emblemizes the harmony between Yin and Yang, the extension of the sky and the earth, the guarantee for a place where extraordinary people emerge, as well as the expectation of endless reproduction.
Helios dedicated his time and self-discipline to Rhodes, making it the origin of mythology. “Dedication” becomes the foundation for Helios’ rebirth and reproduction. Carving, pressing, kneading, repetition, monotonous routine, and sufferings are thus the cost of dedication. Nevertheless, Helios’ rebirth is certain to result in the timeless beauty and the eternal existence of Formosa. Correspondingly, the mythology of HiOK is the heroic, adventurous journey that HiOK sets out on. Had HiOK embarked on the adventure for his own purpose or set a goal which is too easy to achieve, a new round of rebirth and the delivery of the outstanding results (namely his large-scale, awe-inspiring artworks made from his heroic adventurous spirit and intensive physical labor) beyond the viewers’ horizons would have been impossible.
Rhodes also refers to the Island of Rose in Greek, a term that sparks vivid imagination about the beauty of femininity. These semi-artificial spaces are the temples of Nymphs, the representation of arts, the sacred places for water retention, and the kernel of life. They also embody the mission impossible that HiOK arduously tries to accomplish[2]. In fact, the responsibility that Helios shoulders for Rhode and the undying love that he shows to her collectively contribute to his own rebirth and reproduction.
In terms of Chinese mythology, the two words of the artist’s Chinese name — “Yunghsu” — represent the era before Houyi, the mythological Chinese archer. Houyi bravely shot down the nine additional suns with his bow and arrows, thereby making the Earth inhabitable. Before Houyi’s heroic deed, humankind lived in a prehistoric time that all sorts of human activities were orientated towards survival, sacrifice, and reproduction. We may regard the nine suns that Houyi shot down as the light and heat beyond the reality, and the artist further transforms them into the fountainhead of his creative energy. Heat solidifies earth, turning it into vessels that carry water. By way of analogy, the mythological Chinese archer Houyi shot down the nine suns, which was followed by the emergence of the Moon as the destination where Chang’e ascended to. Nymphaions denote caves and sex, whereas caves represent heart, namely the connection between the Earth’s surface and core. Nymphs, Pan, and some Satyrs do not live in temples but in caves (or in woods, rivers, trees and free nature) where they can harness the magical feminine power. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory also treats caves as the womb of the maternal body. These seemingly magnificent and masculine ceramic works in fact brim with feminine qualities that give prominence to the embedded spaces. The boundaries between their interior and exterior are blurred; their internal and external parts are reversed; and their concavities and convexities are indeterminable.
Moreover, the Nymph at HiOK’s side not only wear charming smiles but also dance on their tiptoes. It is a real godsend to the viewers that HiOK is willing to go through the humdrum routine all day long and continuously radiate an aura of heat and light.
Fig. 1: The obverse side is Helios, and the reverse side is a rose, the ancient emblem of Rhodes.
Fig. 2: The ruins of Nymphaion located in Mt. Smith on Rhodes.
[1]In Greek mythology, Psyche is the lover of Eros. She has earned the love she desperately yearned for after experiencing immense mental and physical sufferings. Psyche is also an important archetype of woman in psychology.
[2]Liao Renyi, “The Flesh and Asceticism: The First Exploration of Hsu Yunghsu’s Clay Artworks,” Art Emperor (retrieved on 23 Oct. 2009).