“And It Came to Pass”   ◎  Chu ChunTeng

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Shot in Chongqing, China by Chun-Teng Chu in 2019, “And It Came to Pass”  is an immersive five-channel video installation that shows the progression of life through local everyday scenarios. The visual narrative presents common ordinary scenes accompanied by environmental sounds.

Chongqing is made to appear like a flood-like giant loop and embedded within are individual snippets that are interconnected yet unfolding in parallel to one another, including men that are leisurely swimming in the buff in the Yangtze River; captive sea turtles in the corner of a shopping center; couples embracing in a dance club; and a woman moving in between buildings... Without an objective and an end point, these everyday scenes are like fleeting images that only exist momentarily.

Juxtaposed with silhouettes of workers in the city, Chu uses a long shot to film one porter, so-called “Bang Bang” by locals, that are standing by and waiting. “Bang Bang” refers to a unique group of strolling porters in Chongqing, relying on a bamboo pole to construct Chongqing’s transportation network. The man in this channel appears like a silent spectator, as the scene subtly unveils the profession’s state of decline.

For Chu, “And It Came to Pass”  does not focus on the discussion of the local historical context, nor does it merely expound the observations and annotations on China or Chongqing; it highlights conundrums, which have been collectively evoked by society, which are faced by individuals, as it employs a subtle and vague approach to consider how life’s intrinsic spirits are refined through hardship.      

「 而它來去匆匆」 ◎朱駿騰

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「 而它來去匆匆」為朱駿騰於2019年至重慶所拍攝的作品，運用五頻錄像裝置展現沉浸式的氛圍，透過當地生活的日常片段勾勒生命流動的情狀。影像敘事線由最日常不過的場景、環境聲響建構而成

重慶之於他彷彿是洪水般的巨大迴圈，乘載著相互牽引卻平行發生的個體片段，從裸泳於長江怡然自得的男人們，過渡至悠游在賣場一隅的海龜、舞廳裡相擁依偎的情侶，以及遊走於大樓間的女子，對應沒有目的與終點的情境，一切猶如影像，僅在轉瞬即逝之際。對比城市穿梭的勞動身影，朱駿騰以長鏡頭拍攝「棒棒」等待的狀態。

「棒棒」是重慶獨有的挑夫職業，影像中這角色如同旁觀者般靜默存在，緩緩帶出該職業式微的現況。

對朱駿騰而言，「 而它來去匆匆」不著眼於在地歷史脈絡的討論，也不單是闡述對於中國或重慶的觀察與註解，而是關注個體面對現實社會集體產生的困頓，並以細膩隱微的手法思考，如何在困境之中提煉生命的內在精神性。

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