離
departure
Ping Ho's Solo Exhibition
25. 4 - 1. 5. 2024
Opening Reception
26. 4. 2024
Savage Gallery
3140 N. Tamiami Trl
離 departure | THESIS STATEMENT | PING HO
What is departure? At this moment I do not feel a sense of leaving but rather one of departure. As I departed from my home in Taipei, a vibrant city in Taiwan to study in multiple cities on different continents in 2018, and now reside in Sarasota, Florida where I am going to graduate and leave. My journey from Taipei (Taiwan) to Maastricht (Netherlands) and the United States (Chicago and Sarasota) involves meeting people from all over the world; traveling around places of the unknown; leaving and saying goodbye to my surroundings. Being on this journey my whole life, I came to question What is departure opposed to leaving? Why do people decide to leave home, to leave family and friends, to leave where they used to live and belong? What does it mean to leave home for them and myself?
By disassembling the meaning of “leaving” through a series of historical and sociological research in my thesis research paper, The Cycle of Leaving–Leaving as a Way of Living, I have distinguished “departure as a planned going away from a place, while leaving is an unplanned going away from a place”. This linguistic exploration revealed the origins of these terms in the Germanic and Latin languages. While “departure” traces back to Latin Old French departeure, “leaving” comes from Germanic Old English læfan and German bleiben, meaning “to stay” in German, which oddly became an antonym root.
“Leaving” can imply both going and staying, like leaving something or someone behind, while “departure” doesn't imply leaving something. This linguistic journey led me to choose the Chinese character “離”, which encompasses both the meaning of leaving and departure as acts of going away. I would like to embrace the custom of departure; possess the spontaneity and whim of leaving; and express the collective experiences on both concepts.
In response to the concepts of leaving and departure, I produced and curated a body of works titled 離 departure for a Solo Exhibition at Savage Gallery. This exhibition uses a wide range of art mediums including audio-visual installations, mixed media sculptures, book art, site-specific, documentary photography, and interviews to explore departure as a universal human experience at different stages of life.
As the curator and the artist of the exhibition, my intent is to welcome the audience to a curated journey that transcends the experience of leaving and departing as a traveler, a visitor, a nomad, a wanderer, a passenger, an excursionist, or a lover, a bereaved soul, and a human being, while inviting them to reflect on the profound relationships between home, places, things, people, and time.
Works
This exhibition consists of seven works of art ranging from site-specific, time-based video, a documentary photography project with selected interviews, an audio-visual installation, an artist book, a mixed-media installation, and a participatory installation.
日曆 Calendar (2024)
Taiwanese Calendar
10 feet x 16 feet
A site-specific installation that transforms the exhibition space into a wall of a traditional Taiwanese calendar. Stretching 16 feet by 10 feet, this immersive installation invites viewers to step into the exhibited space and engage with the passage of time as you enter the space. "日曆 Calendar" not only serves as a visual spectacle but also encourages reflection on the significance of time and the anticipation of upcoming events. It invites viewers to contemplate the fleeting nature of time and the anticipation of new beginnings.
海聲 Ocean Voice (2024)
Time-based video
10 minutes 18 seconds
“Ocean speaks to me”.
The ocean image that was throughout the whole video was taken in 2020 during my family trip in Taiwan, and it shows the Pacific Ocean, which holds a significant meaning to me since I have crossed it countless times for traveling and studying abroad. All of the footage is sourced from my archival collection titled "Passage." Each clip within the video showcases various scenes of traversing through places and time, either by vehicle or on foot. The interactive element is programmed using Apple Script and the collage effect is manipulated through Resolume Avenue, adding layers of visual intrigue to offer viewers a mesmerizing journey through different landscapes and environments, inviting them to contemplate the passage of time and the ever-changing nature of our surroundings.
家 Home (2024)
Documentary Photography and Interview
244 inches x 35 inches
家 Home is an exploration of the concept of home through documentary photography and intimate interviews. I reached out and conducted a series of interviews to five families who relocated to Sarasota, capturing their experiences and stories through a series of documentary photographs accompanied by selected transcribed interviews. Each interview spans approximately 6000 words (30 to 60 minutes), providing deep insights into the reason to come to the States includes families' journeys, challenges, and sense of belonging to question the notion of home.
Due to the unforeseen changes in life, one of the family wasn’t able to conduct the photo shoot but I decided to offer another view to represent the situation to embrace the nature of human immigration.
Special thanks to Joel Palombo, Anja Berg Palombo, Thairat Sae-Lee, Thammarat Lee, Nopparat Sae-Lee, Boonyarat Sae-Lee, Anthony Wachira, Jedida Wachira, Maxwell Wachira, Gabriel Wachira, Vince Too, Cecilia Ndungu, Liza Verdugo, Christopher Samberg, Heaven Samberg, and Iva Petkova for their participation in 家 Home (2024).
More details of the work, including their interviews can be found here.
出發 Departure (2024)
Audio-visual installation
50 inches x 15 inches x 15 inches
An audio-visual installation that invites viewers to embark on a journey through the visual and audio journey. A CRT TV is installed on a pedestal, playing a looped video compilation of my personal travel footage captured from cabin windows during airplane journeys. Accompanying the visual experience is a corresponding soundtrack, created using audio recordings captured during the departure period on various airplanes. The recordings feature voices speaking in different languages from the flight attendants, and pilots as well as the white noise on the plane, transporting the audience to the experience of departure, evoking feelings of displacement, unknown, and exploration.
明信片 Postcards (2024)
Book Arts
1 inch x 6.5 inches x 9 inches
A handmade folding book, also known as a concertina, comprising 12 postcards from my friends around the world. From Sweden to Taiwan, each postcard offers a glimpse into the diverse experiences and perspectives of individuals across different countries and cultures. I asked my friends to respond to my prompt: "The journey of life is composed of various forms of farewell and parting, but at the same time, a new chapter is opened by a goodbye. What does parting (to leave) mean to you on a journey?" Their responses are written in their mother language and capture the complexities of departure and the profound impact it has on their lives.
Four of the original postcards have been lost over time. However, rather than viewing this as a setback, I have chosen to embrace the nature of loss in life. These lost postcards are displayed in a digital format, serving as a poignant reminder of the transient nature of human connections and experiences.
Special thanks to Christina (Seung Yeon) Park 박승연 (Korea), Sigrid Sköldberg (Sweden), Kiu子蕎 (Hongkong), Madi Wong 黃芯賢 (Hongkong), Eva Cowley (Canada/Japan), Christine Alhalabi (As Suwayda, Syria), Lilja Sarah Skieller (Denmark/Iceland), Pao Chutichirawong (Bangkok, Thailand), Abigail Lopez Bonifacio (Peru), Aliya Salikhzyanova (Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan, Russia), Tako Pharsenadze (Georgia), Debbie Tsai (Tainan, Taiwan), Rin Yokoi (Japan), Tingting Wang 王婷婷 (China), Charlotte Heida (Canada), Jude Zawaideh (Amman, Jordan) for their participation in 明信片 Postcards (2024).
Translations for each postcard can be found here.
足 Feet (2024)
Dirt, resin, plaster, wax, cracker, wood table
1 feet x 6 feet
A mixed-media sculpture that explores the concept of roots and new beginnings through the symbolism of feet as the “first step”. This installation contains four human-cast feet crafted from a variety of materials, including wax, plaster, resin, and dirt. The four feet, each representing a different material and leading the viewer's gaze toward a stack of traditional crackers from Taiwan, used as offerings to ancestors. This juxtaposition serves as a visual representation of tracing one's roots and cultural heritage.
地圖 Map (2024)
Canvas, pins, and threads
52 inches x 42 inches(main map)
An engaging and interactive art piece that encourages audience participation and reflection. This mixed-media canvas depicts the map of the United States. Viewers are invited to physically engage with the artwork by pinning their hometowns on or outside the map by writing down the locations. This interactive act prompts viewers to reflect on questions such as "Where are they from?" "Where are they now?" and "Where are you going next?" By actively participating, viewers are encouraged to contemplate their journeys, both past and future, and the connections between people and places.
離 departure is a movement to gather every single nomad on this planet to find their home and celebrate the inherent beauty found in the journey of leaving and departing in life.
–ping ho
Organizer: Visual Studies and Fine Arts Department of Ringling College of Art + Design
Exhibition Host: Savage Gallery
Installation: Ping Ho, Arcell Salunga, Rick Li, Rose Marjanneke Williamson
Poster Design: Ping Ho and Rin Yokoi
Curator: Ping Ho
Special Thanks to Claudia Cumbie-Jones, Nathan Skiles, Marina Shaltout, Joe Fig, Noah Coleman, Noelle McCleaf, and Cheri Marks for their unlimited support and guidance.