Video interview with Helen Couchman at TAV, Taiwan, February 2016. 4:38 minutes
Traveling Together, months 7 & 8. Taipei. 7 January – 5 March 2016
（一起旅行・第 7 與第 8 個月．台北・1月7日 – 3月5日．2016 ）
英國曼徹斯特華人當代藝術中心交流計畫 CFCCA Exchange Program /
來訪藝術家 Visiting Artist：
Helen COUCHMAN 海倫・考曼
進駐期程 Residency Period：
2016年第一季 First quarter, 2016
進駐地點 Residency Location：
台北國際藝術村 Taipei Artist Village
「常日．行旅 Travelling within Everyday Life」
展覽日期 Exhibition Date : 2.27(Sat.) —3.20(Sun.) 11:00－21:00 (週一公休,Closed on Monday)
開幕茶會 Opening : 2.27(Sat.) 16:00. Runs until until 3.20(Sun)
展覽地點 Venue : 台北國際藝術村，百里廳 Taipei Artist Village, Barry Room
策展人 Curator : 林珮鈺 LIN Pei-Yu
參展藝術家 Artists : 海倫‧考曼Helen COUCHMAN、池田剛介Kosuke IKEDA、郭立亭KUO Li-Ting、瑪麗亞‧朱莉安娜‧拜克Maria Juliana BYCK、昆‧范圖Quynh VANTU、戴翰泓TAI Han-Hong、The Island、王佩瑄WANG Pei-Hsuan
特別感謝 Thanks : 胡氏藝術Hu’s Art、双方藝廊Double Square Gallery
當我們出發去旅行，一步一步逐漸拉開與日常生活的距離，在陌生的環境中，一花一草一木，彷彿都閃爍著迷人耀眼的光芒。這份悸動感與期待感，正是旅行最吸引人心之處。然而，旅行與日常，並非對立的存在，在異地的生活，是旅行與日常的交界不斷彼此跨越、融合的過程。
2016年1月來到台北國際藝術村駐村的藝術家，在我的眼中，是處於不同旅途階段、各有不同目的的旅人。有人正在進行亞洲之旅，台北是亞洲文化故事中的一個篇章；有人已在台灣各地進行一段時間的觀察與田調，作品中揉雜了對這片土地的深層思維；有人是以世界為家的藝術游牧者，正開始嘗試發掘這座城市不起眼的角落風景與聲音地景；有人正與肚子裡的孩子一起展開第一次的兩人之旅，在台北的經驗片段充滿了對未來的期許；有人原本就以台北為家，如今在這座熟悉的城市中尋找著新的路徑。藝術家的展出作品，各自映照出他們在旅行與日常的交互作用之下，從生活經驗中所淬煉出的體悟與觀點，以及重新思考物理空間與心理空間的內與外、不斷重新劃定界線的狀態。
普魯斯特曾說﹕「真正的發現之旅，不是尋找新的風景，而是擁有新的雙眼。」當你在旅途上，無論是多麼稀有壯麗的絕世美景，亦或是多麼平凡無奇的生活風景，在你眼前都是如此鮮明而美麗。讓我們用旅人的雙眼看世界，用旅行的態度過生活。當旅行成為日常，當常日成為行旅，此時此刻就從此處出發吧!
As we embark upon our journey, we are gradually pulling away from our everyday life. In a strange environment, everything we see seems to blink in the dazzling light. This sort of excitement and anticipation is the most attractive part of travel. However, travel and everyday life are not two opposite ends of existence. Living in a strange place is a constant integration process across the border between travel and everyday life.
The artists visiting Taipei Artist Village in January, 2016, in my eyes, are all travellers in different journey stages for different purposes. Among which, someone is travelling around Asia; Taipei represents one chapter of the story about Asian culture. Someone has conducted some observation and fieldwork for some time in different parts of Taiwan, creating the work with a mixture of deep insights into this island. Someone is a nomadic artist who considers the world as home and starts to explore the city’s landscapes and soundscapes in obscure corners. Someone is carrying out the first trip for two with a baby in her belly. Those fragments of her life experience in Taipei are filled with expectation for future. Someone has found himself/herself at home in Taipei and is currently seeking for a new path in this familiar city. These artists’ works on display reflect their own understanding and perspectives growing out of the experience under the interaction of travel and everyday life. They review both inside and outside of physical and mental space and the status that the borderline is constantly redrawn.
As Marcel Proust put it, “the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” When you are on the road, no matter how magnificent and rare the stunning view is, or how ordinary and dull the daily life landscape is, both can be equally splendid and beautiful. Let’s see the world with the traveller’s eyes and live everyday life with the attitude to travel. When travel becomes everyday life and everyday life becomes a journey, let’s depart from here at this moment!
※展覽FB活動頁 https://www.facebook.com/events/480648205476283/
For further details and images of the project Travelling Together exhibited click here
Helen COUCHMAN moved to London in 1991, where she completed a BA in Fine Art at Sir John Cass in 1996, and an MA in Critical Fine Art Practice at Central St Martins in 1998. She was more recently invited to pursue a period of post graduate research at Chelsea.
Couchman has exhibited widely, both in the United Kingdom and internationally, often producing new bodies of work during residencies. Amongst these are Cyprus (2003), Vermont (2005), China (2006), London (2015) and Taiwan(2015).
Moving to live in Beijing in early 2007, Couchman published her first book there, WORKERS , in June 2008. Portraits from the series have been exhibited in London (2008), Hong Kong (2008) and Beijing (2012). Couchman’s second book, Mrs West’s Hats, was published in November 2009.
Couchman’s solo exhibitions also include Mrs West’s Hats, Yerevan, Armenia (2004) Gift, Beijing (2006) and There was no single reason for me to be there at first, London (1999). The artist has contributed to a number of group exhibitions, including The Artful Scriptorium, New York, (2010),There and Everywhere, London (2009), China in Motion, London (2008), Solutions for a Modern City, Hong Kong (2008), Future Landscapes, Shewsbury, UK (2005), Uncommon Ground, Sway, UK (2004), Sodium Blindness, London (2000), find(found),London (1997), and Contemporary Chinoiserie, London (2008).
Resident Project：
I plan to make new work in response to my stay in Taipei. In my practice I often make art projects in direct response to the location I work in. In the past they have been referred to as self-made residencies. I spent nearly seven years, 2006-2013, working independently in Beijing initially as it fulfilled a persistent curiosity I have regarding fast changing landscapes and how they reveal the politics and economics of the people in those places. In the last three years I have been working independently on a project in Oman making expeditions across the country to meet women and collaborate with them on portraits.
Helen COUCHMAN於1991年移居倫敦，1996年獲得Sir John Cass藝術學院的學士學位，1998年獲得中央聖馬丁藝術實踐評論的碩士學位，近期她被邀請到切爾西進行碩士後研究。她在英國以及國際多處舉辦過展覽，駐村期間常製作新的作品。駐村地點有賽普勒斯（2003）、美國佛蒙特州（2005）、中國（2006）、倫敦（2015）以及台灣（2015）。Couchman於2007年初移居到北京，2008年6月，她在北京出版了她的第一本書《工人》（Workers），這一系列的肖像照在倫敦（2008）、香港（2008）以及北京（2012）展出。Couchman的第二本書《西方女士的帽子》（Mrs West’s Hats），也於2009年11月出版。Couchman的個展包括Mrs West’s Hats（亞美尼亞，葉里溫，2004）、禮物（北京，2006），以及There was no single reason for me to be there at first（倫敦，1999）。藝術家參加了許多聯展，包括The Artful Scriptorium（紐約，2010),There and Everywhere（倫敦，2009), China in Motion（倫敦，2008), Solutions for a Modern City,（香港，2008), Future Landscapes（舒茲伯利，英國，2005), UncommonGround, （英國Sway，2004), Sodium Blindness（倫敦，2000), find(found)（倫敦，1997), 以及Contemporary Chinoiserie（倫敦，2008)。
駐村計畫：
我計劃製作新的作品以回應我在台北的駐村，在我的實踐中，我通常會製作直接回應計畫所在地的藝術計畫。過去被視為是自行駐村的計畫，我花了將近7年的時間（2006年至2013年）在北京獨立創作，最初是滿足我固有對快速發展的地景，及其如何揭露該地人民政治和經濟情況的好奇心。過去3年，我持續在阿曼獨立製作一項計畫，在該國各地認識女性，並與她們用肖像照共同合作。
