what’s in my name?
installation by aparupa saha, anh phuong, larissa platz and lucia salomé gränicher
part of the final exhibition of the program transcultural collaboration
@c-lab, taipei, taiwan
an orchid is not just a flower but projections of layers of claims, imaginations and violence within and through time. defined by a name, by categorization, by narratives, it becomes a symbol for things it may not have given its consent to. name-giving is an act of claiming. not only in regard to objects, plants and living beings as well in regard to geographical territories. the act of name-giving often reflects forceful assimilation, imposition of authority and dominion and erasure of intrinsic indentity for import of a new one. what’s in my name? looks at the process of how the orchid was named, classified and categorized and its evolution into a symbol for an island of the people, originally called pongso no tao, now officially carrying the name of the orchid - lanyu / orchid Island. since the orchid was named and categorized it was also being held in greenhouse, where logics of protection unfolded. furthermore the careful dissection of the process of naming within this work deals with narrations which try to stabalize and protect implemented systems of power.
this work contains two components - a postcard stand with postcards, and an audio piece playing a collage of interviewed voices talking about the flower, the island and the naming of both. the postcard stand as the visual element is symbolic of an outside view, a fragmented tourist gaze upon a place while the audiopiece through its raw conversational character gives an inside glimpse into the complex taiwanese identity. the working methods chosen involved research, listening to peoples voices and a careful rearrangement of the many fragmented narratives related to orchids and the orchid island. layers of narratives were peeled back to connect with a subject matter and present it with a bouquet of different facets while being aware of the unreachability of grasping the whole picture and thus making this exact contradictory the core of the artwork itself.
audio piece
nothing more familiar than an island
from this project emerged the collaboratively written visual essay
yours, orchid
©ting chen chang