The Cave of Eighteen Arhats
2022
two channel video
Taste the Difference
Hypha Studios, London, UK
In northern Taiwan, in a tunnel that has been abandoned for over twenty years, it contains many eastern deity images, as well as stories and sculptures from local folklore. I found eighteen empty small caves and tried to investigate the cave’s history and its relationship with nearby temples. Most importantly, I wanted to answer questions such as what the eighteen caves originally held and where those things are now.
In a neighboring temple, I found the eighteen golden Arhats statues that were originally from the caves. Yet the temple was no longer open to the public. Therefore, Butoh artist Fu Chin-En and I began a project of returning the golden statues to its original place.
We worked together to choreograph a dance according to each Arhat’s characteristic. The projected image of the dance in the small caves acted as a symbolic return of the statues. This project also explored the relationship between dance and dynamic sculpture. We also experimented on the translation of the Arhats’ still images to continuous set of actions.
two channel video
Taste the Difference
Hypha Studios, London, UK
In a neighboring temple, I found the eighteen golden Arhats statues that were originally from the caves. Yet the temple was no longer open to the public. Therefore, Butoh artist Fu Chin-En and I began a project of returning the golden statues to its original place.
We worked together to choreograph a dance according to each Arhat’s characteristic. The projected image of the dance in the small caves acted as a symbolic return of the statues. This project also explored the relationship between dance and dynamic sculpture. We also experimented on the translation of the Arhats’ still images to continuous set of actions.
Excerpt from the publication:
The Eighteen Arhat Caves -"The Sound Out of Cave"
The Eighteen Arhat Caves -"The Sound Out of Cave"
“ To me, the recording and reflection these times are like a series of “returning”. First is the returning of the eighteen arhats. Why are we doing this? I would say it’s an intuitive instinct. The only thing missing in this tunnel, which is named after the eighteen arhats, are the arhats, while the caves that used to store them are as glamorous as ever. The images we projected returned to the tunnel, becoming the soul or even the ghost of the arhats, while the real golden arhats were left outside the tunnel, wandering.
Another explanation is the returning experiences to the tunnel throughout the project. We constantly enter and leave the tunnel, almost as if we were revisiting a mother’s womb. Every in and out, every engagement and withdraw are in great pain, but oddly peaceful and calm when we were in the womb. After being repeatedly reborn, I am now learning my first words and exploring the new world, but fearing that I would never be able to return to the womb, and immerse in the nutritious fluid the mother provides. ”
Another explanation is the returning experiences to the tunnel throughout the project. We constantly enter and leave the tunnel, almost as if we were revisiting a mother’s womb. Every in and out, every engagement and withdraw are in great pain, but oddly peaceful and calm when we were in the womb. After being repeatedly reborn, I am now learning my first words and exploring the new world, but fearing that I would never be able to return to the womb, and immerse in the nutritious fluid the mother provides. ”
Documentation ：
Ya Hsuan Hsiao