In my art piece, I explore the parallels between my personal struggles with cultural identity and Taiwan's struggle in history to define itself. Taiwan is an island off the southeast coast of China, which was colonized by various countries before becoming a leader in technological advancements. My art piece embodies the confusion and imposter syndrome that comes with adapting to different environments in the quest for identity.
The art piece is inspired by Oedipus' paradoxical existence and how it can be interpreted differently. The artwork uses the visual analogy of differently colored lenses to represent different stages of Oedipus' life. The red lens represents Oedipus' achievements and the blue lens represents his flaws. The artwork encourages the audience to look through both lenses to see the full complexity of Oedipus' character. This reflects the coexistence of Oedipus' multiple identities and the different ways to interpret his journey, which makes him a multi-sided or 3D character.
The reference for this Burtynsky Value piece was the Colorado River Delta #8 located in Baja California, Mexico. It was a vast region that was once flourishing before the iconic Western river was dammed which diverted the water flow and essentially turned the delta into a desert. He emphasizes that the human desire to reshape the Earth to accommodate for urbanization, rich and natural landscapes can quickly cause irreversible effects ie. look dead once water becomes forever compromised.