"Chasing the Moon", 2001, 2009 – a solo show at Sarah Lawrence College

A solo show at SLC's Barbara Walters Gallery from Feb 26 – Mar 26, 2009

The show has three parts: a triptych of 3 laminated astronaut images; "Home-Land" is five participatory AV rocking chairs; and "Chasing the Moon" is a single-channel video.

The show's concept, "Chasing the Moon," was part of "The Astronaut" project that I had started in the mid-90s. "Astronaut" in my work is a symbolic construct of a transplanted, dislocated, and out-of-control subject in a state of uncertainty. The inspiration started from my childhood experience in Taiwan with my family watching the concurrent and parallel historical events in 1969 – the space landing on the moon and the war in Vietnam. Other influences were Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, watching my goldfish, David Bowie's Space Oddity, Pink Floyd's music videos, X-Files, Twilight Zone, John Cage and Chinese Philosophy, the city of Los Angeles, and everyday cross-cultural experiences. "Chasing the Moon" and "Astronaut" are reflections on human progress, sociological advancement and consumerist culture.

"Home-Land" is a participatory installation of five interactive AV rocking chairs. The interrelatedness of images, movement, and sound/music is another of my long-time interests. In this experiential installation, five participants' rocking chairs randomly controlled the Astronaut's movement, creating an indeterminate video and sound composition. The Astronaut was perpetually challenged by competition, war, displacement, and the unsettled past, placing the subject and the participants/viewers in a precarious state. The five rocking chairs with For Sale signs symbolized threats from the housing crisis in 2008-9, swaying the participants to and fro between comfort and insecurity, stability and uncertainty, home and land, here and there, past and future.