installation

致幻記 III：2-19-20
Notes on Psychedelics III: 2-19-20

The red light will increase or decrease as the sound effect changes. 室內紅光會隨著音效變化而增減

Notes on Psychedelics III: 2-19-20 continues the depiction of altered consciousness in this series of works. Unlike works produced around visual symbols and concepts, it reveals the artist's past clairvoyant experiences and dream notes, and from them it extracts images, creating scenes that shift between dreams and consciousness, exuding an atmosphere of mysticism reminiscent of occult rituals, when shamans become possessed and enter an indistinct, oblivious state. Here, consciousness serves as a vehicle for the source of many insights into life, the universe, time and space, and it leads us to accept the guidance of a higher form of life. When we enter the space that Yin-Ju Chen has arranged, soundwaves trigger our perceptions, ushering us into an experience that is real yet transcends reality. Next, the dim lighting in the room brightens, opening a space of complex ambiguity. All these actions always take visitors to unexpected places, where they linger and wonder what will happen next. This is quite thought-provoking. But they must first think about what they encounter by accessing their senses, and let their mind and body sink into the experience.

Yin-Ju Chen's space of images formed by sound, lights, objects, drawings and videos generates an abstract, spiritually animated world. They are the "dreams" that exist within consciousness. She believes that dreams from the depths of our consciousness can awaken both our minds and our souls. On the surface these mirages seem fragmentary and scattered, but they open up a broader dimension in the human state of consciousness, and in the mind of the artist they serve to create a level of inner perception. In this work, external things shatter our customary mindset. These highly psychedelic techniques are an attempt to induce the visitor’s powers of sensory perception, putting them in a state of excitement, paralysis, rapture or quiescence, and thus enter a deeper mental dimension where consciousness and dreams run free within our emotive sensations. Yin-Ju Chen focuses on the hidden spiritual abilities of people in modern society. She uses the language of mental images to manifest a spatial topography, constructing an oblique "scene" and revealing an "other" space to express a certain hidden mindfulness that is innate in human beings. At this moment, this work touches an unpredictable realm of imagination, embedding the immaterial within material reality, in an attempt to reconfirm the ultimate pure land of the soul that we hope to preserve.

〈致幻記III : 2-19-20〉延續其系列作品關於意識轉換的描繪。不同於圍繞著視覺符號和觀念生產的作品，它透露過去藝術家的靈視經驗與夢境筆記，並從中提煉意象，創造出在夢境和意識之間轉換的場景，散發出一種神祕主義的氛圍。如同巫祭儀式，巫師在神靈附體時，進入一種忘我的迷離狀態。在這裡，意識是承載諸如生命觀、宇宙觀、時空觀的源頭，它引領我們接受一種更高生命的指引。當我們走入陳瀅如部署的空間，聲波啟動我們的知覺，讓我們經歷一種真實但超越現實的經驗。接下來，房間裡的燈光從暗到亮，撬開一個複象多義性空 間。這一切運作，讓觀眾總是在他們意想不到的地方發生，他們待在那裏懷疑著會發生什麼事件，相當耐人尋味。但眼前，他們必須先通過感官來思考，讓他們的精神與身體沉淪其中。

陳瀅如的意象空間以聲音、燈光、物件、素描及影像，營造出抽象的靈動世界，它們是存在於意識裡的「夢」。她相信從屬於深層意識中的夢境，能把我們的神經和心靈一併喚醒。表面上看似瑣碎散亂的幻象，但它們開發了人類意識狀態中另一個更為廣闊的維度，在藝術家心裡用以創造一個內在的知覺層次。這個作品，外在的東西打破我們慣常的智性，這些展現一種更具迷幻的手法，企圖誘發觀眾的感應力，使他們處於亢奮、麻痺、著魔、停頓狀態中，以此進入更深層次的精神向度，讓意識和夢境在感性中奔馳。陳瀅如聚焦在文明社會中人被隱蔽的心靈能力，她用意象語言體現空間形貌，建構一個隱晦不明的「場景」，揭顯「另一個」空間表達人與生俱來的某種深藏的意識思維。此時此刻這個作品觸及關於想像和不可測的界域，將非物質嵌入物質現實中，試圖再度辯證我們想保存最後的心靈淨土。

"Look for her." "She dreamt about you."

Sonic Driving

2018-2024
commissioned by the 13th Gwangju Biennale and V-A-C Foundation
watercolor drawings, video, 7.1 surround sound

Sound design: Cheng Chou
Animation: Chia-Sheng Lin

第13屆光州雙年展、V-A-C基金會委託製作
水彩｜鉛筆素描｜錄像｜7.1 環繞聲道

聲音設計：周震
動畫合成：林嘉生

*The displaying objects have been modified in 2024
*備註：陳列物件於2024年刪除更動

Sonic Driving not only explores the capacities of our brain, consciousness, and altered states of consciousness (ASC), it also "previews" the future of humanity, and questions the mad house of rationality via the methods of "Core Shamanism."²

***

In our rational, material and modern society, scientists continue to investigate the mysteries of human consciousness. However, we have already found many possible answers in our ancient traditions: shamanism or in Chinese, "Wu" (巫). For shamans, our ordinary consciousness is not the only consciousness we have, and our visible world is not the only world that exists. Shamans expand or alter their consciousnesses to enter to the spiritual worlds for various purposes -- mostly to heal people.

Sonic Driving visualizes this tripartite reality: the shaman’s upper world (video), middle world (drumbeat sound), and lower world (drawings).

***

In the ancient times, shamans were the healers and sometimes leaders of their tribes and communities. Their predictions and skills at communicating with spirits determined the survival of their tribes.

Following this path, in Sonic Driving, we journey to the other world, by shamanic drumming technics, and ask the spirits for guidance on the way toward the future of humanity.  

***

From historical evidence found in the Blombos Cave of South Africa, the history of ASC dates back to 70,000 to 100,000 years. Researchers have found the evidence of ASC worldwide. Even though "getting into a trance" is intangible, it is very likely that the ancient cave paintings which often resembles half animal and half human figures came from an ASC vision induced in shamanic rituals.

***

Why the Shamanic way?
Because it works.


//YJC, 2019, Taipei

「…這實踐在人類歷史上跨越時空且無所不在，意味著意識轉換在維護人類社會結構以及精神聯繫上起了根本的作用。」¹

《Sonic Driving》 不僅僅探索我們的大腦、意識、儀式轉換等潛能，這件創作計畫同時「預覽」人類的未來，以及透過「核心薩滿」²的方法對狂妄的理性主義提出疑問。

***

在我們理智的、物化的現代社會，科學家持續地研究人類意識的奧秘。然而我們已經在古老傳統中找到許多可能的答案：薩滿實踐，或是華人的「巫」文化。對薩滿或巫師來說，我們的尋常意識並非我們擁有的唯一意識狀態；我們可見的是世界也非唯一存在的現實。薩滿們基於種種理由，擴張或是改變她們的意識，進入靈性的世界，大部分的目的是療癒他者。 《Sonic Driving》將薩滿的宇宙觀視覺化：運用錄像呈現呈現上部世界的旅程、中部世界的薩滿鼓聲、以及下部世界的繪畫日誌。

遠古時期，薩滿的角色是部落的醫者，甚至是領袖。他們的預知能力與靈魂溝通的技能，決定了部落的生存。

***

就南非發現的布隆伯斯洞窟的證據來看，意識轉換的歷史可追溯到七至十萬年前。研究人員也已在世界各地找到找到了意識轉換的證據。即便「進入恍神狀態」是不可觸知且難以明瞭的，但那些半人半獸的洞穴壁畫有極高的可能性是在薩滿儀式中，經由意識轉換後導出的視覺紀錄。

***

為何選擇薩滿途徑？
因為有效。

//YJC, 2019, Taipei

1. Ember, Carol R., Carolus, Christina. 2017. "Altered States of Consciousness" in Explaining Human Culture. Human Relations Area Files <http://hraf.yale.edu/ehc/summaries/altered-states-of-consciousness> accessed Nov 6, 2019. →
2. "Core Shamanism consists of the universal, near-universal, and common features of shamanism, together with journeys to other worlds, a distinguishing feature of shamanism. As originated, researched, and developed by Michael Harner, the principles of Core Shamanism are not bound to any specific cultural group or perspective." The Foundation for Shamanic Studies. <https:// www.shamanism.org/workshops/coreshamanism.html> accessed Nov 6, 2019. →

文／德芬阿亞思（Defne Ayas）

薩滿鼓聲誘發的意識轉換，歷來在原民社會與公共領域具有社群凝聚力、共苦、療癒的意圖。但沈浸在聲響脈動與深度冥想的心靈旅程之映射，卻是極少的嘗試的，然而陳瀅如的計畫卻潛心研究鼓聲知識，進而習之傳統的靈修方法 。她探測意識的門檻：在神秘領域與宇宙願景等無形世界中，遠遠超越傳統定義的身心關係的界線，深深地投入超體經驗的旅程，並將之視覺化。

《Sonic Driving》運用源自麥克漢納博士研究發展的「核心薩滿」作為方法，對狂妄的理性主義提出質疑。伴隨規律的鼓聲，這件作品將三方集體真實視覺化（編譯：薩滿宇宙觀中的三部世界）：上部世界的影像拍攝於蒙古與貝加爾湖，喚起橫跨中亞草原，土耳其、蒙古、瑪札爾人共同崇拜的騰格里，一位初始讓人類快樂生活，不知痛苦與疾病為何物的天神。中部世界，穿越殘響隧道，來到對錯分明的維度，以及與鬼神共存的人類世界。下部世界具啟發性地彩繪著進入動物智慧的領域中。《Sonic Driving》不僅揭示了自我體察、人我劃分與集體真像的可能性，同時也通過神諭的指導，分享對人類未來的洞察。在全球數位科技作為主體的時代，這件作品呼應著不同維度世界的智慧。

The Upper World

The upper world video (HD video, 15’02”, color, Blu-ray, 7.1 surround sound) is about two intertwining journeys: the tiring pilgrimage to Mongolia and Siberia, and the shamanic journey to the upper world.



Video still




The Middle World

is represented as shamanic drumming (recorded in 7.1 surround sound, embedded in the upper world video),
and the workshops.

Courtesy: Minds Rising, Spirits Tuning, The 13th Gwangju Biennale | Photo Credit: Sang Tae Kim

昴宿星團回聲器 Reverberation of the Pleiades

In what ways do the stars affect human life on Earth? Yin-Ju Chen searches for answers to this question in cosmology, conspiracy theories and philosophy, all of which inspire her artistic practice. American art of the 1960s and archaic patterns based on star constellations and found in global cultural productions, reverberate in Reverberation of the Pleiades, her new land art work created as part of "The Mindful Intervention" at Kunstfort Vijfhuizen.

Reverberation of the Pleiades is culturally anchored in the global human tradition of depicting and describing the Pleiades, a star cluster that came into being about 100 million years ago. The Pleiades are for instance mentioned in Homer’s Iliad and depicted on the Nebra sky disk. Astronomers say that the Pleiades star cluster is anchored in a deep past and it will last into the far future for about another 100 million years before it fades. In view of this time span, Yin-Ju’s Reverberation of the Pleiades reads like a contemporary reminder of the ephemerality of human life.

超星鑑定 III：熵：25800
Extrastellar Evaluations III : Entropy : 25800

2018
Solo exhibition | Installation view | TKG+ Projects | Taipei
Installation objects including: 2 videos, 2 sets of drawings, site-specic vinyl cuts

個展展場記錄照片｜TKG+ Projects｜台北
兩個影像投影、兩組素描、限地製作卡點西德圖文

Dystopia or, an allegory of (counter-)evolution

Rikey Tenn

Artist Robert Smithson, who created the 1970 earthwork sculpture Spiral Jetty in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., once wrote an essay titled "Entropy and the New Monuments" for Artforum magazine that was subsequently included in the book "Robert Smithson: The Collected Writings" published in 1996. In this essay, he conveyed through the second law of thermodynamics established in the 19th century, a scenario widely accepted among artists of the time that energy loss far exceeds its acquisition in the universe, leading to an inevitable future of total and pervasive stillness — the so-called "heat death of the universe." Hence, artists were devoted to monuments that transcended time. However, his writings seem unsentimental regarding the end of the universe; rather, he hints at human expressions toward the coming of the possible end of days.

The structure of Smithson's Spiral Jetty coexists with nature. In his essay he mentions a number of artists active in the 1960s who also applied methods from the natural sciences to create new monuments that seem to "cause us to forget the future." The time it takes to decay or to biologically evolve is completely eliminated in the monuments created by these artists. This temporal offset also abolishes values attributed to the notion of action in art — "Reaction follows action, till finally the artist gets 'tired' and settles for a monumental inaction." He goes as far as to declare "the awareness of the ultimate collapse of both mechanical and electrical technology has motivated these artists to build their monuments to or against entropy.²"

Looking back from the vantage point of the 21st century, though the "inaction" inspired by entropy temporarily escapes temporality, the "heat death of the universe" has become a prophesy perpetually delayed by the newest theories on the formation of the universe. At the same time, the so-called new monuments of these artists always lead to thoughts of recent scientific discoveries such as simulations of crystalline structures of minerals and nature's geometric forms, or the momentary bursts of electro-optical energy. This confusing paradox also echoes the rumored end of the "Age of Pisces" in the North American social atmosphere, while a mass media infested with conspiracy theories conveys its desires for the "Age of Aquarius." Is this the fate of technology-inspired art, or an inevitable outcome of the highly pressurized Cold War era?

For the first time, an eponymous film in Yin-Ju Chen's latest solo exhibition "Extrastellar Evaluations III: Entropy: 25800," links the abovementioned Second Law of Thermodynamics with the cycles of the Great Year (the period of one complete cycle of the spring equinox around the ecliptic), contents of "the telepathic communication between humans and the universe" (excerpted from "The Law of One"), and patterns of "sacred geometry" in order to construct her discourse on dystopia. A prelude to this discourse in the Extrastellar Evaluations Series includes Extrastellar Evaluations II — A Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (2016), which references texts from the Bible, 13th-century Persian poet Rumi, and "Appended Remarks of the Book of Changes" (Yijing Xici); as well as her work Extrastellar Evaluations (2016) that revolves around minimalist artists from the 1960s and psychics — all combines as a trilogy.

We soon realize that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the artist seems to reference a vast quantity of discursive data to blur the boundary between hypotheses and factual data. The single-channel video work about the end of the world pivots around the telepathic communications with the cosmic oversoul "Ra." It opens with a desolate landscape filmed in New Zealand, followed by a quotation and the first communications with Ra, and then a series of scientific animations and archival footage on thermal dynamics, nuclear fission, and so on, interspersed with two additional communications accompanied by a narration of computer-synthesized human voices and sound effects. The experimental visual language that Yin-Ju Chen adeptly wields has now become the vehicle for spiritual messages; we are unable to either firmly resist or accept the content. Equally difficult to confirm is that the arguments posited in Extrastellar Evaluations have been based on a book titled "A Dweller on Two Planets", which claims that 19th-century biogeographers maintained the existence of an ancient continent called "Lemuria" that eventually became submerged somewhere between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. This theory was originally used to explain a discontinuity in biogeography, but has instead become a distant context for a shift in art history in her project⁴.

Of course this is not the first time that Yin-Ju Chen has used expansive and infinite universal perspectives and knowledge to create a moment that is difficult to digest — the artist is skilled at using occultism and pseudo-science as narratives to explain the individual psyche vis-à-vis the universe as a whole. From One Universe, One God, One Nation (2012), to As Above, So Below (2013–2014) to Liquidation Maps (2014), which used astrology to explain the actions and backgrounds of major massacres in history, or Extrastellar Evaluations II — A Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems that presents the intersections between occultism and science through a dialogue on the history of science, the artist further delves into rare ancient images, often using alchemy or sacred geometric elements to alleviate the viewer's discomfort with the vast scale of the universe. The visual construction of the overlapping layers of interaction between macrocosms and microcosms further enables the viewer to gradually abandon the habits of the brain within the solemn atmosphere of the work.

Through the sequences of the Great Year, extraterrestrial telepathy archives, and entropy, Extrastellar Evaluations III: Entropy: 25800 serves as her dystopian proposal and points to an irreversible end of the universe. Yin-Ju Chen has said that interpreting the occultism of history is her vehicle to research power structures, violence, and the collective unconsciousness⁵. Conspiracy theories and dystopias "share similar modes of reflection; they all reveal an unseen power to control and the secret implications of actions.⁶” She hopes that the viewer can somehow grasp the concept of macrocosms and microcosms expressed by the installation as a whole, even if they cannot understand the meaning of the occult symbols. If this is the case, should we perhaps abandon attempts to validate Extrastellar Evaluations III, and focus instead on the telepathic message: the heat death of the universe brought on by humankind will occur after the "Age of Iron" of this ecliptic cycle? (The problem is, if you and I accept this conjecture, how will we confront this irrevocable fate? She does not provide answers in this regard.) And these unfathomable conjectures are merely the artist's own beliefs, or a hermetic process of continuously excavating contradictory materials; to lead our generation of spectators who live on Earth in observing this already-numb planet from the perspective of her so-called extraterrestrial visitors from the other end of the galaxy, to ask ourselves: Why has it come to this? And where will it go next?

Although humankind has evolved to an era where science can explain all, with answers even for the birth and death of the universe, we still cannot comprehend the coincidences or predestined courses in history. What special significance did the 60s hold for the artists? Why was there a wave of art of "synchronicity" during that specific period of time? And what type of message did the artists hope to convey through these objects? Perhaps Yin-Ju Chen's images are an alternative interpretation of our glimpse into the mysterious inspirations of that era, but the same sense of mystery has also brought her into the ranks of the artists she examines.

Just as Henri Bergson combines empirical science with metaphysics in "Creative Evolution", supplementing evolutionary theory with élan vital, the Extrastellar Evaluations Series provides alternative interpretations for human history and for the lives and practices of minimalist artists, and, guided by Yin-Ju Chen's intuition, combs through historical truths using "entropy" to simulate refutations of life forces. She does not eschew temporality, but settles into a Bergson-esque temporal flow in search of answers. We seem to glimpse an attempt by occultism to integrate binary oppositions before the day of final unification. "The Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems" advises us to continue in interrogating the "truth" in the face of relatively objective history, while Yin-Ju Chen allows us to realize that the only way we can confront this universe designed to subdue us is to listen.

反烏托邦，或一則（反）演化論的寓言

鄭文琦

「未來是倒敘過時的。」許多藝術家間接但卻明顯地傳達熱力學第二定律的模擬情境，也就是以推斷熵值的範圍來描述能量的迅速流失大於獲得最終極的未來，宇宙能量終於燃燒殆盡，而轉變為全面的均值化的靜止狀態。1 ──‭ ‬羅伯特．史密森（Robert Smithson）

1970年在美國大鹽湖創作知名地景藝術《螺旋堤》（Spiral‭ ‬Jetty）的藝術家羅伯特．史密森，曾在《藝術論壇》（Artforum）上發表一篇標題為〈熵與新紀念碑〉（Entropy and the New Monuments）的文章，後來被收錄在1996年出版的《Robert Smithson‭: ‬The Collected Writings》一書裡。其中，他透過19世紀中確立的「熱力學第二定律」傳達當時許多藝術家共同相信的模擬情境，即宇宙能量的迅速流失大於獲得，未來終將轉變為一種全面均質的死寂—即所謂的「熱寂」（Heat death of the universe），藝術家們因此投入一種超越時間的紀念碑。儘管如此，他的行文對於宇宙將終結似乎不太感傷，反而暗示人們在面對末日可能來臨之時的抒懷。

史密森的《螺旋堤》作為某種與自然共存的結構，他則在文中提及許多活躍於1960年代的藝術家也取法於自然科學，其結果是，這類新紀念碑幾乎「使我們忘了未來」。衰亡或生物演化的時間被這些藝術家的紀念碑抵消了。而時間的抵消也廢除了行動論（notion of action）在藝術裡的價值──「行動帶來反應（reaction），直到藝術家終於『厭倦』了並止息於紀念碑的非行動（inaction）」。他甚至宣稱，是「機械與電子科技最終皆崩壞的覺知，刺激這些藝術家建立了他們朝向或背離熵的紀念碑」²。

在21世紀回顧這些說法，啟發自熵的「非行動」雖然暫時擺脫了時間性，「熱寂」卻隨著最新的宇宙起源理論，成為一則不斷延遲的預言。與此同時，藝術家所謂的新紀念碑卻總是讓人聯想到近代科學家的發現，如仿效礦物結晶構造與自然界的幾何形式，或者電光能量的迸發瞬間。這種令人困惑的矛盾性也呼應了1970年代前後盛傳「雙魚時代」即將結束的北美社會氛圍，充斥陰謀論的大眾媒體卻傳達出對「寶瓶時代」的渴望。這究竟只是科技啟發藝術的宿命，抑或者冷戰時期的高壓特性所使然？

陳瀅如在最新個展「超星鑑定III：熵：25800」‭ ‬的同名影片裡，首次採用前文關於熱力學第二定律的推論，來串連「大年」（春分點完整繞行黃道一圈所需的歲差週期）的循環、「人與宇宙超靈的通訊」（摘自《一的法則》（The‭ ‬Law of One））內容和「神聖幾何」的圖案，構成她的反烏托邦論述。這套論述的前文本「超星鑑定系列」還包括引用《聖經》、13世紀波斯詩人魯米（Rumi）、《易經繫辭》等文字的《超星鑑定II：關於托勒密和哥白尼兩大世界體系的對話》（2016）以及她以‭ ‬1960年代極簡藝術家與通靈為題材的《超星鑑定》（2016），建構成一套三部曲。

我們很快就發現，藝術家似乎有意無意地引用大量的論證資料來模糊假說和實證的界線，並在影像訴諸與宇宙超靈RA的「通訊」來完成這件關於「末日」的單頻道錄像作品。最初是在紐西蘭拍攝的蒼涼風景，在引句和一段與RA通訊的文字後，是一系列包含熱力學、核分裂等科學動畫和檔案影像，其間插入另外兩次通訊，伴隨著電腦合成人聲的旁白和音效。這些陳瀅如嫻熟的實驗影像語言，此刻成了承載靈性訊息的法門，而我們卻難以堅定地抗拒或接收這些內容。同樣難以確認的是，《超星鑑定》的論證奠基於一本名為《兩個行星的居民》（A Dweller on Two Planets）的書，書中稱19世紀生物地理學家主張有一個「雷姆里亞」（Lemuria）的遠古大陸，後來沈沒於印度洋和太平洋之間。該理論原是為了解釋生物地理學的不連續性，卻在她的計畫裡成為藝術史轉向的遙遠脈絡⁴。

當然這不是陳瀅如第一次以浩瀚無邊的宇宙觀點和知識使人難以消化的時刻──這位藝術家擅長以神秘學與偽科學解釋個體心靈和宇宙整體關聯的敘事。從《共登世界大同之境》（2012）、《天一象、地一物》（2013–2014）到《屠學表》（2014）採用占星學詮釋歷史上大屠殺的行動與背景，《超星鑑定II：關於托勒密和哥白尼兩大世界體系的對話》採用了科學史的對話形式呈現神祕學與科學的交集。她更鑽研冷僻的古代圖象，常常藉著鍊金術或神聖幾何元素的繪製，緩和展場觀眾對於浩瀚宇宙尺度的不適應。而大宇宙與小宇宙層層交互指涉的視覺構成，更讓人們在肅穆的節奏裡逐漸擺脫大腦的慣習。

《超星鑑定III：熵：25800》透過「大年」、外星通靈檔案、熵依序鋪陳，傳達她的反烏托邦主張，指向不可挽回的宇宙終點。陳瀅如說詮釋歷史的神秘學是她用來研究權力結構、暴力、集體無意識的工具⁵，陰謀論則是「與反烏托邦分享著相似的思考方式，它們都揭示不可見的控制力以及行動的秘密含義」⁶；她期待觀眾即使不明白神秘學符號的意義，也能感受整體裝置試圖闡述的大小宇宙概念。果真如此，我們是否該放棄驗證《超星鑑定III》的論據而聚焦在超靈訊息：人類所導致的熱寂末日將在這次大年的「鐵（第四）紀元」結束後發生？（問題是若你我採信了這說法，又該如何面對不可挽回的宿命？於此她並未回答。）而這些難以蠡測的推論只是藝術家的信念，還是透過不斷挖掘矛盾材料的鍊金過程，帶領只能住在地球上的我輩觀眾──如她聲稱的外星訪客般從銀河另一端反向觀察這個早已麻木的行星，並問自己：它為何走到今天的局面？又將走向何方？

雖然人類已進化到一個萬物都可以被科學所解釋的年代，連宇宙的生死也即將有答案。然而我們仍不明白歷史上的巧合或命定；1960年代對於藝術家有什麼特殊的意義，為何在特定時刻形成具有「同時性」的藝術，而藝術家又想透過物件傳達何種訊息。或許陳瀅如的影像只是我們窺見那個年代神秘靈感的替代性詮釋，但同樣的神秘卻也使她加入她所探索的藝術家行列了。

如同伯格森（Henri Bergson）在《創造演化論》（Creative Evolution）結合實證科學與形而上思想，對進化論做出「生命驅力」（élan vital）的補充，「超星鑑定系列」作品對於人類歷史、低限藝術家的創作及生命的替代性詮釋，也透過直覺的引導爬梳史實，更以「熵」模擬生命驅力的反證──為此她不但不放棄時間，更安住在柏格森式的時間流裡尋找答案。於此，我們彷彿看到了神秘學試圖整合的二元對立──在終將合一的日子到來之前。《托勒密和哥白尼兩大世界體系的對話》教導我們，要在相對客觀的歷史面前保持對「真實」的詰問；陳瀅如則使我們看見，面對這個意圖懾服我們的宇宙，「傾聽」才是唯一的答案。

《生命之花》／Flower of Life｜Charcoal, pencil｜157.5 x 109 cm｜2017

超星鑑定 Extrastellar Evaluations

Extrastellar Evaluations focuses specifically on the 1960s as a key historical era for both Lemurians and humans. For humans, the 1960s denoted a complex interrelation of cultural and political events worldwide amid the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the beginning of the Cold War (1962–1979), the enduring Vietnam War (1955-1975), Africa’s independence movements, Cultural Revolution in China (1966–1976), African-American civil rights movements and 1968 protests in Europe, the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., to name a few. For Lemurians, this era was marked by a series of severe weather events that disturbed their transmission routes, such as record-breaking flooding and snowstorms (1955/56, 1959, 1964/65, etc.). ² Pushed far beyond the immediate vicinity of Mount Shasta as a consequence, the Lemurians sought new forms of and locations for communication with their motherland. They initiated prolific creations of geometric-shaped transmission devices on a national scale, made visible by human interpretation and appropriation as conceptual and minimalist artworks.

Revisiting dreadful human actions of the 1960s through the lens of outer space intelligence, Extrastellar Evaluations questions our understanding of our past while encouraging different interpretations of our existence on earth. In this context, the multimedia installation opens consciousness toward the risks of human activities, echoing today’s anxieties toward issues of global warming, continuous conflicts and exploitation of resources. In addition, mirroring its past, present and future, Yin-Ju Chen’s work addresses early signs of our becoming lost in this world. In doing so, the artist echoes theorist Franco "Bifo" Berardi’s observation of humans’ loss of faith in the reality of life, suggesting a larger, long-term phenomenon rather than a recent trend linked to the development of media and information technology.³ In light of Lemurians’ ambiguous presence on earth, the installation also implies the inevitability of the cycles of history, sealed by an external force–as evidenced by Chen’s 2012 three-channel video installation One Universe, One God, One Nation examining the dictatorship of Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek. Considered alongside this latter body of work, Extrastellar Evaluations develops the scope of Chen’s long-term consideration of notions of "power" and collective (un)consciousness.

關於《超星鑑定》

Marie Martraire

結合檔案照片和錄像材料，以及雷姆利亞人創造的物件，這件計劃的功能宛如一個證據，證實在二十世紀中期，雷姆利亞人以美國藝術家之姿作為掩飾，在人類社群展進。包含許多人類藝術圈耳熟能詳的名字，如卡爾.安德烈（Carl Andre）、梅爾.博赫納（Mel Bochner）和詹姆斯.特瑞爾（James Turrell）等人，這些人利用立方體、巨石、方尖石塔，麥田圈等形式來作為溝通工具,回報原生星球有關人類的活動。經由靈媒露西亞的通靈協助，計劃中的影片翻譯了雷姆利亞大祭司與精神領袖阿達瑪（Adama）的訊息。而一副圖解式的再現方法，標記出傳遞的訊息（人類活動）、媒介（所謂的極限與觀念藝術），以及他們演繹的空間（宇宙）等許許多多彼此間潛藏的關係。

《超星鑑定》著眼於六〇年代，這個雷姆利亞人與人類的關鍵歷史時刻。六〇年代象徵了國際間複雜的文化、政治的相互關係，例如1962年的古巴飛彈危機、冷戰的開始（1962-1979）、冗長煎熬的越戰（1955-1975）、 非洲獨立運動與1968年歐洲抗 議事件、中國文化大革命（1966-1976）、非裔美國人人權運動（1954-1968）、1968年馬丁路德金被暗殺等等。對雷姆利亞人來說,這個時代加計了一系列嚴重阻擾通訊的天災，如破紀錄的洪水以及暴風雪（1955／56, 1959, 1964／65等紀錄）²。由於逼鄰雪士達山，雷姆利亞人尋求新的方式和地點來與母星通訊。 祂們發起、並發明了豐富遍及全國的幾何形狀的傳動裝置，以人類的詮釋並被人類拿來挪用為觀念與極限藝術的方式顯現出來。

通過外星智慧的角度，重新審視六〇年代可怕的人類活動，《超 星鑑定》質疑我們對過去的瞭解，也鼓勵存在地球上不同角度的歷史詮釋。以此來龍去脈，複合媒材裝置使人們對人類活動的危機產生意識，呼應了今日對於全球暖化、持續衝突、濫用資源等問題的憂慮。此外，鏡像過去，現在、未來，陳瀅如的作品呈現我們在這個世界逐漸迷失的徵兆。在這情況下，藝術家呼應了理論家法蘭克貝拉迪對人類面對現實生活喪失信心的觀察，提出一個更宏觀更長久的現象，而不是發展媒體與資訊科技的近來趨勢³。鑑於雷姆利亞人若有似無地在地球上存在，這件裝置計畫也意味著被外力封密起來的歷史重演之必然性──如藝術家在 2012年的《共登世界大同之境》審視中國獨裁者蔣介石這件作品的佐證。同時，這件後續作品《超星鑑定》擴展了陳瀅如長期關心的權力與集體（無）意識議題之視野。

親愛的觀眾，

我是露西亞，阿達瑪的靈媒。自從我搬到雪士達山後，阿達瑪和我經常通靈。

祂一直關注經過如此多的世代轉世，我們人類意識的進化似乎不完善。然而，由於星際法則與自由意志的定律，高度進化的智慧生物不允許干涉我們的生活。

阿達瑪指示，如果有一天地球所有的物種成為完整的一體，祂的雷姆利亞同胞會從昴宿星重返地球，不僅與祂們在雪士達山與人類社會的家人團聚，也會把高度文明帶回藍色星球。

基於星際法則，我承諾過我只能說這麼多。

誠摯的露西亞

《致幻記》Notes on Psychedelics

眼睛，位在頭骨的峰會，為了注視太陽毒辣的孤寂而在白熾中睜開，它不是用來認知的產物，而是一種立即的存有；它在睜閉之間猶如大火一般，或如同發燒一樣吞噬著生命，或是更精確地說，吞噬頭部。因此，它扮演者房子裏的大火；頭部，不像金錢鎖在保險箱裡一樣將生命鎖上並且毫無計算的花費，它是為了在最終情色變態時能接收到關鍵的電流。熊熊燃燒的頭是消耗概念的意象與令人不快活的光體。當它被基礎系統性分析闡述時，便超越了靜止空洞的觀念。

最初，神話不僅被認同為生活，也代表失落的生命：退化與死去。從一個生命開始承載它，這不全然是外部化，而是以具體化後的淫蕩來作為形式，在迷幻作用下，讓自己作為猥褻和裸體受害者：不是在暗昧模糊與物質驅使之前，而是在妓女笑虐狂嚎之前的受害者。

存有不再相似於實用符號的整齊行程序列，而是病態的熾熱和持久的性高潮。（巴代伊 Bataille, Georges, "The Pineal Eye" Visions of Excess-Selecte writings,1927-1939, 82》

《超距作用》Action at a Distance

	Man can do what he wills, but he cannot will what he wills.   Arthur Schopenhauer

《屠學錶》Liquidation Maps

2014
5 charcoal and pencil on papers (125 x 125 cm), HD videos (color, loop), printed documents
五張素描，各125 x 125 公分、兩件投影、文件

Khmer Rouge 1975-1978 | Charcoal, pencil |125 cm x 126 cm | (One of five)

By re-examining historical incidents through the lens of the occult, Chen is not only attempting to rethink the subjective awareness of history writing in textbooks from the past, she is also questioning whether such actions by humanity are inevitable under the predetermined and inexorable laws of the universe, whether these laws constitute a form of cosmic force majeure. Corresponding to the belief that purification and perfection are achievable through violent means, in the artist's video work, the planet Mars represents the god of war and Pluto represents the utter persecution and destruction that precedes the reconstitution of order. This underlying concept is similar to Jung's belief that one's natal chart could represent a prototype of collective human consciousness. In critiquing Chen's work, critic Rikey Cheng pointed out that "natal charts are a form of intellectual temptation for their audience, as their symbolic meaning only surrenders to the manipulation of the hand that draws the chart, provided that information is masked and phases are purposely made vague… And these sketches adhere more closely to the labors of ancient astrologers rendering natal charts by hand in the absence of computer technology. Rather than bringing audiences an instant chart readout with internet technology, they lead viewers on a voyage of discovery towards the soul."¹

1 From "A User Guide to Internal Maps", Rikey Cheng's commentary at Yin-Ju Chen's 2014 Dead Souls at the Test Drive exhibition.

Leiyu Massacre, Taiwan, 1987	Sook Ching Massacre, Singapore, 1942
East Timorese Crisis, East Timor, 1999	Gwangju Uprising, South Korea, 1980

Pluto | HD video | loop | source: NASA | 2014	Mars | HD video | loop | source: NASA | 2014
Photo by Power Station of Art, Shanghai, CN | 上海當代藝術博物館

《天一象、地一物》 As Above, So Below

共登世界大同之境
One Universe, One God, One Nation

2012
3 channel video installation | 17 minutes loop | color & B/W | stereo

Channel 2 and 3 | Left: Sun | Right: Scorpio constellation


Channel 2 and 3 | Left: The crowd cheering Chiang Kai-Shek | Right: Chiang Kai-Shek waving to the people

Yin-Ju Chen's new video installation One Universe, One God, One Nation seeks to evoke a sense of closure and despair in the face of the inescapable cycles of history. The particular moment evoked here is the age of space exploration in the 1960s, juxtaposed with the forms of imperial, ideological, and totalitarian power existing at that time. The inspiration for the work came from Hannah Arendt's analysis of space exploration as a form of "world alienation," and also from the astrological horoscope of Chang Kai-Shek, which predicts his charismatic and authoritarian character. How is it that most modern movements for a better future, and all attempts to break free from the chains of power, ultimately fall prey to their own mythologies? Here we enter the slippery ground between "science" and "collective dream image," between the knowledge and the fantasy of an epoch. One Universe, One God, One Nation is a visual meditation on power, modern forms of totality and totalitarianism, mass mobilization, devotion, the auratic, and the supernatural. It works through the juxtaposition of images taken in outer space with images of war and submission to power.

Text source: Taipei Biennial 2012

Channel 1 is showing before entering the exhibition room of Channels 2 & 3. It shows one image of Pluto and its astrological interpretation.

Installation view | Channel 2 & 3 5 min excerpt

透納檔案 The Turner Archives

*Photos: Willem Vermaase/ RijksakademieOPEN 2011

All the notes is written in runic alphabets, to represent white suprematists' ideology.

Turner's working table, displaying his equipment, notes, homemade bombs, and attacking plans.