Excavation site: Potato-shaped stone tool (bat-like relief), dumbbell-shaped bones, etc.
A sunken hollow in an undulating terrain—this large-scale installation created by Hsu Chih-Yu brings forth an almost preposterous question: Is there not a resemblance between an archaeological excavation site and a skate park?
We are naturally compelled to reflect on how archaeologists and skateboarders each engage with a sunken terrain in their unique ways. The analysis of historical evidence by archaeologists demands physical exertion, and their investigations result in the emergence of new landscapes. In contrast, skateboarders operate exclusively above ground. As they perform repetitive bodily motions, they assimilate themselves into the sunken terrain. Regardless of whether it involves labor or sport, a compact hoe or a board mounted on four wheels, the body aided by instruments persistently forges new relations to the spatial temporal connotations of a landscape.
同樣是向下凹陷的場景、帶著高低起伏的地形變化，許芝瑜的這件大型裝置作品丟出了一個近乎荒誕的聯想:你不覺得考古發掘現場 與滑板練習場看來有點像嗎?
我們不可避免地進一步思索著，考古挖掘人員和溜滑板的人，正以各自不同的方式進入眼前的下陷地形：考古者透過身體勞動考察歷史證據，在探索時間的同時創造了地景，溜滑板的人們則流連於表層，在反覆的身體運動中，把自己融入那一方凹陷的地景。不管是勞動或運動、用的是小圓鍬還是有著四個輪子的板子，工具輔助下的身體，不斷探索著這片地景的時空意義。
This exhibition centers on the "Stick Figure", bringing together objects related to this simple human form from different periods and places. Through this collection, the exhibition reexamines a symbol that appears ordinary, yet is remarkably ubiquitous.
Composed of nothing more than a circle and a few lines, the stick figure is one of the most enduring forms of human representation. It can be found across a wide range of visual cultures—from prehistoric cave paintings and ancient rock carvings to contemporary street graffiti and restroom signs in restaurants and bars. Transcending time and geography, it continues to appear in diverse cultural and everyday contexts, taking on different meanings and functions as its users and circumstances change.
I am fascinated by these stick figures scattered across places and histories, and by the stories they carry. This fascination became the starting point for the exploration presented in this exhibition.
這次展覽以 Stick Figure 為主題，透過蒐集不同年代、不同地域與 Stick Figure 相關的物件，重新檢視這個看似平凡卻無所不在的符號。
這個由圓圈與簡單線條構成的人物形象，看似極為簡單，卻廣泛存在於人類的視覺文化之中。從史前洞窟壁畫、古代岩刻，到今日街頭塗鴉、餐廳與酒吧的廁所符號，都能看見它的蹤跡。它跨越時間與地域，不斷出現在不同文化與生活情境中，並隨著使用者與脈絡的改變，被賦予不同的意義與功能。
我著迷於這些散落各處的 Stick Figure，以及它們背後所承載的故事，而這也成為此次展覽展開探索的起點。
“Pits and Plots” unzips together the secrets of bones and books. Led by artist Hsu Chih-Yu, the collage workshop unfolds as an archaeological play - from delving into old books as excavation pits, to spatially recomposing fragments into imaginary skeletons.
Bones remain central to Hsu’s collage and sculptural practice, a recurring motif that prompts queries into what lies invisible below the skin's surface, holding an expansive space for infinite shape and movement.
Inspired by her ongoing practice, this two-part collaging exercise proposes a playful series of assemblage and extraction, questioning what is rendered visible and invisible in the process. While inviting participants to join in a collective bone collage, we also intentionally peer back into the new windows that open in the leftover books, reshaping new fiction and uncertainty. Join us in this collective excavation, and take home your own unique “book skeleton” and whatever new creature we may find.
「深坑與密謀」舊書拼貼工作坊將引領我們探索骨骸與書本的秘密。由藝術家許芝瑜帶領，這場工作坊好似一場充滿遊戲性的考古行動：我們將舊書化為挖掘的探坑，在其中採集碎片，並於空間中重新構築成想像中的骨骸。
骨頭作為藝術家許芝瑜的拼貼與雕塑實踐的核心主題之一，既引發我們對皮膚之下不可見之物的好奇，亦承載著對其外在形態的無窮聯想。
延續藝術家一貫的創作脈絡，本次舊書拼貼工作坊將以富有趣味且略帶神秘的方式，帶領大家進行一系列的剪取與重組，並共同思考過程中種種顯現與隱身。在拼貼的過程中，我們也不忘回望舊書中被剪下的書頁，試圖從中形塑為全新的虛構敘事與尚未被確立的邊界。誠摯邀請你加入這場集體挖掘，最後帶走僅屬於你的「書本骨架」以及任何悄然成形的新生物。
