MISFITS, OFFCUTS, AND CASTAWAYS (2016)
This series of work occurred as a way of sharing some personal reflection and inspiration drawn from my experience living in the Marshall Islands in 2010-11, a place now endangered by the consequences of climate change. However, neither environmental concerns nor climate change is the focus of this exhibition aesthetically. Such phrases project a strong ethical or political implication and lack the more intimate investigation on such subjects. I have been reading intensively on the subject of climate issues out of personal interests, although the exhibition per se remains a visual exploration of my curiosity of such subjects, as opposed to a political illustration or statement of current issues. It is also extremely important to me to gear away from the cliché, didactic approach of politics in visual art.
The relationship of social-political issues and art is challenging to handle. There is plenty of contemporary art that deals with political topics, mostly on a superficial level and often fall into the narrow range of cynical illustration of anti-governmental corruption, mockery of hedonism and narcissism, comment on feminism and ethnic identity, or calling for equal rights and philanthropy. Whereas good works in those realms do exist, this type of work reminds me of a more serious discussion: if we can thoroughly and effectively investigate a social-political issue, or even solve the problem, through verbal media, such as writing an essay or publishing a social research report, then what is the point to illustrate the very same issues through visual art? Didn’t art in this case fail to deliver something different from verbal languages?
Art should have the ability to present politically sensitive topics with poetic languages, or present personal emotions with systematic structure, vice versa. Whilst visual art has the license to draw inspiration from current issues, it becomes trite when politicised – and that is precisely the challenge of putting together these works.
- Yi Dai, 2016
This series of work occurred as a way of sharing some personal reflection and inspiration drawn from my experience living in the Marshall Islands in 2010-11, a place now endangered by the consequences of climate change. However, neither environmental concerns nor climate change is the focus of this exhibition aesthetically. Such phrases project a strong ethical or political implication and lack the more intimate investigation on such subjects. I have been reading intensively on the subject of climate issues out of personal interests, although the exhibition per se remains a visual exploration of my curiosity of such subjects, as opposed to a political illustration or statement of current issues. It is also extremely important to me to gear away from the cliché, didactic approach of politics in visual art.
The relationship of social-political issues and art is challenging to handle. There is plenty of contemporary art that deals with political topics, mostly on a superficial level and often fall into the narrow range of cynical illustration of anti-governmental corruption, mockery of hedonism and narcissism, comment on feminism and ethnic identity, or calling for equal rights and philanthropy. Whereas good works in those realms do exist, this type of work reminds me of a more serious discussion: if we can thoroughly and effectively investigate a social-political issue, or even solve the problem, through verbal media, such as writing an essay or publishing a social research report, then what is the point to illustrate the very same issues through visual art? Didn’t art in this case fail to deliver something different from verbal languages?
Art should have the ability to present politically sensitive topics with poetic languages, or present personal emotions with systematic structure, vice versa. Whilst visual art has the license to draw inspiration from current issues, it becomes trite when politicised – and that is precisely the challenge of putting together these works.
- Yi Dai, 2016
Works in this show:
