Springs Eternal: Glenfiddich Artists in Residence – 12 Years from Taiwan
Date
23 December 2016 – 12 February 2017
Opening Reception
5:00pm Fri., 23 December 2016
Special Event
6:00pm Sat., 07 January 2017
Venue
1F, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts
Curator
Andy Fairgrieve
Artists
Chen Hui-Chiao, Wu Chi -Tsung, Yao Jui-Chung, Yuan Goang-Ming, Wang Jun-Jieh, Chen Shiau-Peng, Mia Wen-Hsuan Liu, Wu Tung-Lung, Agi Chen, Joyce Ho, Chang Huei-Ming, Lin Kun-Ying
Organizer: Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts Coordinator: IT PARK Sponsor: Glenfiddich
We have all been regaled by the multitudinous sounds water can make. Indeed, its ability to move people, its cleanness, coolness, viscosity, whether bitter cold or scalding hot, means that every mouthful imbibed contains untold possibilities. From the moment we learn to talk as young children, our thirst is quenched from multiple sources and language is replete with water-related alliterations.
All life traces its origins back to water and as a repository for various images it has inspired boundless human reverie and imbued poetry with real world energy. Water is also one of the most important ingredients in the production of whisky. For Celts, it is fundamental and the center of spiritual life, as well as a source of purification, curative remedies and rebirth – particularly spring water. In order to obtain the purest water and produce the best quality whisky possible, William Grant, the founder of Glenfiddich, bought the 1200 acres around the distillery to ensure the Robbie Dhu spring was not polluted. As a result, it remains the only farm in the highlands of Scotland that grows barley and has its own source of water. In addition, the distillery also makes its own oak casks and copper distillers.
In 2005, Chen Hui-Chiao was the first artist from Taiwan to be invited to take part in the Glenfiddich Artists in Residence program. Her time living and creating art in Dufftown, Scotland, marked the beginning of what has been a decade long cultural exchange between the town and Taiwanese artists. Since then, every summer one local artist has been recommended by IT Park Gallery to spend three months in Dufftown. This experience has allowed them to better understand the traditional production of whisky, local environment, history and value of the Glenfiddich brand, elements that have all been transformed into integral parts of art works. Each artist has also in his or her own inimical way established a close relationship with curator Andy Fairgrieve. With the support of fifth generation head of Glenfiddich Peter Gordon, the Glenfiddich distillery in Scotland, IT Park Gallery, and William Grant & Sons (Taiwan) Co. Ltd, Taiwan has become a key player in the Glenfiddich Artist in Residence program.
「療癒之泉—格蘭菲迪台灣 藝術家駐村計畫 12 週年」
展期：2016/12/23-2017/02/12
開幕：2016/12/23, 5:00 PM
晚會：2017/01/07, 6:00-10:00 PM
地點：關渡美術館一樓
策展人：安迪・費爾葛瑞福
藝術家：林昆穎、張暉明、何采柔、陳怡潔、吳東龍、劉文瑄、陳曉朋、王俊傑、袁廣鳴、姚瑞中、吳季璁、陳慧嶠
主辦：關渡美術館 策劃：伊通公園 贊助：格蘭菲迪
液態是一種水的詞語，我們聽著各種水聲，它如此動人、清澈、涼爽，甚至粘滑、冰冷、灼熱，就好像水會來到嘴邊，每一口水都蘊含著一個天地；從我們學會說話那時起，百川就充滿我們干涸的嘴，語音上充滿水的對偶詞。
所有生命都源自於水。水除了能讓各種形象聚合在一起，激發了無限的遐想，並賦予詩作以活力。水，也是釀造威士忌的主要靈魂。對凱爾特人而言，水就是根源，也是他們精神生活的中心；水也是淨化、治療與重生的來源，特別是泉水。為了取得最純淨的水源，製造最高品質的威士忌，格蘭菲迪創辦人威廉‧格蘭 (William Grant) 買下酒廠周圍占地1200英畝的康瓦爾 (Conval) 山丘，以確保羅比度 (Robbie Dhu) 的泉水不會受到任何汙染，至今仍是蘇格蘭高地唯一擁有自己的水源與種植大麥的農莊，除了自己打造橡木桶外還自己鑄造銅製蒸餾器。
2005年，陳慧嶠是台灣第一位受邀格蘭菲迪藝術駐村計劃 (Glenfiddich Artists in Residence) 的藝術家，在蘇格蘭達芙鎮 (Dufftown) 生活與創作，開啟了台灣藝術家與當地深厚的文化交流。從此，台灣的駐村藝術家透過伊通公園的推薦，每年夏天在達芙鎮駐地創作三個月，了解威士忌的傳統製程、當地環境、品牌歷史與價值，並吸取與轉化為藝術作品，每個人都以獨特的方式與策展人安迪‧費爾葛瑞福 (Andy Fairgrieve) 建立起一段特殊的情誼。在格蘭家族第五代傳人彼得‧高登 (Peter Gordon) 的支持下，由蘇格蘭格蘭菲迪酒廠、伊通公園、格蘭父子台灣分公司三方合作，不斷轉型、累積與推展下，台灣成為格蘭菲迪各國AiR計畫中，最完整亦最具代表性的國家。
今年是台灣參與格蘭菲迪藝術駐村計畫的第12年，12不只是時間的概念，同時也是宇宙間木星運動的循環週期，象徵信念與智慧、幸運與成長，12也是威士忌熟成最具代表性的年限。在這個別具意義的階段，格蘭菲迪集結了歷年的駐村藝術家陳慧嶠、吳季璁、姚瑞中、袁廣鳴、王俊傑、陳曉朋、劉文瑄、吳東龍、陳怡潔、何采柔、張暉明，以及方才駐村回國的林昆穎，將於關渡美術館舉辦「療癒之泉—格蘭菲迪台灣藝術家駐村計畫12週年」展。