"Mene 9000" unfolds in Meishi settlement, Matsu. Once a thriving hub post-military presence, it shifted from traditional living to entertainment. The space, a backdrop for history, gathers social activities. The Meishi site, on a hillside, serves as an exhibition venue using clay and natural elements. This project, amidst ruins, aims to repair the environment relationship, reconstructing daily life's narrative.
(1) Excavation and Representation: Constructing a Faux Archaeological Site
"Mene 9000" explores living spaces transforming into political and consumer entities in Meishi. Using imitation ancient pottery, it underscores the ongoing cycles of coercion and creation between people and objects, emphasizing material technology's ideological aspects. Viewers in this "residential" space explore personal constraints through past item appropriation and virtual object creation in a consumption format. Despite attempting to evoke traces of life from a specific era, the artwork acknowledges the absence of these objects, highlighting prevailing domination and suppression rooted in capitalism.
(2) Patching and Repairing Stone Wall Boundaries, Ground, and Roof
Excavated tiles from the original house roof and various artifacts, including ceramic lamps and tools, were intentionally placed in a landscape space reconstructing connections with Matsu's history. Stones defining past boundaries were reprocessed and partially used to restore the stone wall's window frames. The intervention, including filling cracks with local soil and stacking ceramic shards, continuously reshapes the meaning of space and time.
Conclusion: Replicating Diverse Spaces
"Mene 9000" embodies Baudrillard's concept of a simulated era, where the world is shaped by models and symbols, with objects influencing perceptions and behaviors. The project creatively explores through ready-made objects, constructing virtual characters and landscapes resembling archaeology. In today's information society, real events are transmitted through networks, yet as recipients, we perceive only the signals. The spatial representation of a fake archaeological site constructs a diverse social space, connecting with Meishi art's "Project Turn Home" and envisioning future possibilities.
