Kao Chung-Li
Who’s in the Labyrinth
2018CRT TVs and webcams
Narcissus with Echo
2018Projectors, mirrors, kinetic installation and webcams
Object Book Series:
I.Transfigured Justice, II.Les Carabiniers, III.A Page of Madness
2018 Opaque projectors, pad, objects
(bronze sculpture, postcards, medals, flag, mask and a wooden box)
Art Space III

For this exhibition, Kao uses three installation works to examine the subjectivity of history. Kao cites Heidegger’s concept of a World Picture - propounded in his discussions of modern subjectivity. He also draws inspiration from Descartes’ dioptrics light experiment, which not only proved the imaging principles of refraction but also proved that humans are able to identify existing subjects such as “I think therefore I see” and “I think therefore I am.” Kao employs mirrors, projections, and cameras to ask the question of whether the person one sees in a reflection is the same person who is “the seen subject of self.” Narcissus with Echo is a motor-driven installation consisting of many mirrors that will be displayed in a curved space. An infinite number of subjects will appear in the mirrors via reflection and the curved walls will be projected with the image of viewers. In Who’s in the Labyrinth, several CRT TVs are stacked into a column, viewers will see themselves shattered in the delayed real-time images. A dialectical speculation on the objectivity and subjectivity allows Kao to reflect upon modern history in which science and experimental research has played a leading role. Reflecting upon history we must ask ourselves how we construct fair criticisms, whom we wish to redeem, and whose subjectivity we wish to reconstruct, and, who I am.
Kao Chung-Li
Kao is an artist of images whose works include photography, experimental film, animation, sculpture, and image installation. Kao probes the essence of images, examines the relationship between history and personal life stories, and explores the relationships between time, image, and media.EVENT
- A Suitcase CinemaEmploying both traditional imaging equipment and that modified by himself, Kao Chung-Li ingeniously turned the viewers’ eyes into optical lenses that capture the engrossing interplay between light and shadow. In this talk, Gao will not only prepare opaque projectors and a sound-image music box, but also address the issues concerning optics, imaging technologies, subject and object, as well as existence by means of hands-on operation and performance.

*Registrations will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. If applications are oversubscribed before the deadline, we will stop accepting applications without further notice. Please visit https://rebase.clab.org.tw/ for full details.
*The organizer reserves the right to modify or cancel the event.