Tao Ya-Lun solo exhibition "Ubiquitous Ghosts" at MOCA Taipei
Artist Tao Ya-Lun will have his solo exhibition “Ubiquitous Ghosts” at MOCA Taipei from August 22 to November 1.
When contemporary technology gives birth to the virtual body – a fresh sensory system co-created by the corporeal body, program and machines – it manifests its existence in the form of ambiguous, elusive “ghosts.” —it It is characterized by an “absence” that suspends all “presence” and legitimate power structures as well as regular, habitual living experiences. This renders all that is “present” incapable of encoding, categorizing and controlling the “absent” ghosts; contrarily, the “absent” ghosts launch a total deployment and control over everything that is “present.”
The Ubiquitous Site of “Ghosts”
The death of a great or a savior-like figure might be viewed as a dividing point between the new and old worlds. Death is not merely the end of physical life. It also indicates the sublimation and continuation of existence, a transition from the physical body to the virtual “ghost.” Therefore, the death of a great, a savior-like figure could be sensationalized and virtualized by frenetic followers, deifying the figure into a being with the power of redemption. “Ghost” is the continuation of the figure’s life, ubiquitous and haunting. It infiltrates and permeates our subconscious, expanding into a multi-dimensional space of “microscopic power.”
Contemporary technological governance, at any given time, is “the invisible arrivant.” As governance technology advances in time, it lurks deeper, becoming ubiquitous and free from all rules. It manifests in unexpected contents and forms. It unrestrainedly infiltrates thingsmatters, domains, individuals and consciousness that it attempts to control and monitor, cancelling our privacy at any time and depriving us the freedom to survival while realizing full infiltration from the virtual realm to the physical world and achieving a total control over human consciousness and soul. Contemporary political powers take turn to evoke the spirits of “savior-like figures” and utilize “the faith and truth that is yet to come and yet to realize” to extend and enhance governance technology. The combination of contemporary technology and authoritarian regimes will give rise to a “ghost-like,” super-efficient governance system that is ubiquitous and unprecedented, surpassing the Orwellian totalitarianism.
Tao Ya-Lun solo exhibition “Ubiquitous Ghosts”
Exhibition dates:2020.08.22-2020.11.01
Exhibition venue:MOCA Taipei
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