• Duration：2014.1.15~2014.1.19
• Booth：C-20
• Artists：JAM WU、LEO WANG、LIN HUNG-HSIN、MIA LIOU、TAI HAN-HONG
• Venue：Marina Bay Sands Singapore

The process of urbanization rapidly transforms people’s lifestyle and sometimes in an irreversible way. People perceive the tense rhythm of time ticking away, and thus constantly feel challenged to seize each space in-between the moments.

This “high level of time-pressure" has become the common problem of every city. However, irregular pace in daily life will lead to mental and physical stress, and people’s sensory receptors tend to become weaker when responding to stimuli.

Referring to the post modern philosopher Paul Virilio’s (born 1932) work, “Esthétique de la disparition”, fast pace in life will slow down perception. Symbolically, the urban residents resemble a machine-like body, when fighting against the high level of time pressure; the body will inevitably sink into “absent-mindedness". As for the city, controlled by the speed of time, it could eventually become distorted by excess signals.

“Distortion" is the alteration of the original shape of something, such as an image, sound or waveform. Distortion is usually unwanted, and so people strive to eliminate distortion, or to minimize it. However, distortion may be desirable sometimes, just as the time pressure of an urban city. People cannot walk away from the highly industrialized society without forming anxiety.

The exhibition “Distortion City" recommended the contemporary artists in Taiwan who have creative ideas and energies. Mia Liu’s works “Guggen’ Dizzy", use Guggenheim Museum’s entrance tickets as the inspirational medium, and indicates artist’s stressful experience of working in the Visitor Services of the Guggenheim Museum in New York. This work also acts as the initiator in transforming the Guggenheim building structure and artist Mia’s culture shock.

The works of Jam Wu’s “Photo-cutting Collection – Looking at Winter Light” reflect his sensitivity of the environment and personal experiences as an artist-in-residence. Artist Jam transformed city images into totem and symbol by using Chinese traditional paper-cut techniques.

The work of Lin Hung-Hsin’s ”City Mist “”If the Clouds Know ”, creates surreal city landscape in a realistic way, and makes every familiar corner of Taipei city deformed and defocused, giving a subversive perception to daily life. The new works of Leo Wang use different techniques and mix media to visualize sound signals into abstract paintings. Creating a mysterious space with flowing rhythm and monitor signals by using the vertical composition of light and shadow.

The work of Tai Han-Hong “The House on a Chair #1″, by artist’s architecture background and the obsession of wood texture, as an anti-functional furniture and sculpture, giving viewer a distorted view of a simple daily chair.

Although the five exhibiting artists all had different background and use various materials for their creation, they all share the ambition to find a breakthrough in the everyday environment, while searching for that familiarity in the city that belonged to their prior experiences. Using their works, artists communicate or escape in the highly time pressured city while reflecting their life experiences. Bringing in various focuses of distorted view, the exhibition aim to bring viewers into deep questioning about the time pressure and speed of life.