Waterland (2015-2018)
Waterland is a project questioning the boundary between water and land, natural and artificial environment, how people react on this boundary. Waterland explores our connection to the ocean, reflecting upon the relationship between humans and their environment. Under this topic, using sound and objects as mediums to make site-specific installations, interweaving field recordings from the real world, natural materials, artificial objects and participative activities to construct a surreal space is a thematic play in her several installations. Hsu attempts to draw a distinctive space to invite audience to feel the relation between body, space and audible perception.
Starting from 2015, the experience of the western coast in Australia inspired Yenting to create a multi-channel sound installation Waterland. While doing the artist residency in Perth, Western Australia, the observation and experience made Yenting re-think about how her country interact with the ocean. The same as Australia, Taiwan is an island country, but Taiwanese are physically close to the ocean, meanwhile mentally alien to the ocean due to the education about the nature and the lack of marine knowledge which could trace back to the political factors especially from 1950s to 1970s, Taiwan Strait Crisis between China and Taiwan, a war was on the verge of breaking out. Being close to the ocean was dangerous and prohibited. Probably from then on, people on this island keep away from the ocean. After two generations, the vestigial tension between still roots there. Meanwhile, Australia has its issue of sea. The contradiction and conflict between nature and human sits there worldwide. Waterland is pondering the intimate and distant connection between human and water.
From then on, Yenting continues her exploration on this topic in Taiwan, and made another multi-channel sound installation at Taipei Artist Village. In 2018, Yenting made a sound documentary Waterland screened at Taipei International Documentary Festival. This July, illusion I, the work Yenting was invited to create inspired by the Rockaway Beach, was digging in the same theme in another way. During four years, under different forms and contents, Yenting has been exploring in this topic from perspectives of documentation and sensory experiences, through sounds, material and objects to invite audience to perceive and think about the connection between human and the nature.
2015 Waterland, Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth
2016 Waterland, TAV, Taipei
2018 Illusion I, The Castle Rockaway, New York
2018 Waterland, sound documentary，Taipei International Documentary Festival，Taipei