During childhood, objects are imbued with our imaginations. A simple stick becomes a person or a bridge; some grains of rice on the kitchen table can be arranged into a long train; a bicycle becomes a frame for a tent; blankets can be used to construct a magical fort; and a living room rug is the sea. In the minds of children, simple, everyday objects become toys, props, platforms for performances, or living things; and they use their creativity to make up endless stories, plays, and even imaginary friends. Artists are actually a lot like children—throughout history, they have used their imaginations to explore and study objects in a similar way, but also to create different kinds of still lifes. Still Life, a project by the Children’s Art Education Center, takes as its point of departure still-life paintings and sculptures in the Museum collection, and has specially commissioned interactive installations. The project endeavors to facilitate interesting interactions with these works, as well as exploration of how artists create various dynamic presentations of objects in their artworks. Just as children do, artists can communicate by creating interesting connections among simple objects. The exhibition is divided into three subthemes: Relationships Among Objects, Recorder of Time, and Objects Recreated. These themes deconstruct the still-life genre and encourage visitors to view the world around them from novel perspectives. The exhibition includes not only static artworks, but also those offering opportunities for experiential exploration of objects’ meanings through manipulation and reassembly.     

Artists
WANG Liang-Yin
WU Sih-Chin
Walking Grass Agriculture
CHIJ Chen-Hung
CHANG Yi-Hsiung
Moises BARRIOS
KUO Po-Chuan
SUDA Yoshihiro
LIU Chi-Hsiang
LAI Chiu-Chen

Curator
王瑋婷 Wang, Wei-Ting