Yang Jie-huai’s artwork “Look for Nothing” draws inspiration from a common opening line in gay dating culture. Building upon the works showcased in his solo exhibition “I’m Incapable of Loving” in 2021, this year’s artwork is presented in a more refined and poetic manner at the 2023 Next Art Tainan exhibition area at Der-Horng Gallery. It depicts scenes that revolve around the themes of desire and the gaze.

“Look for Nothing” is constructed upon a fictional narrative. The artist examines the fluidity of desire through both physical and virtual spaces. In this narrative, two strangers connect through a dating app and arrange to meet in a vast forest. This pursuit and exploration echo the yearnings and cravings for emotional connection. In response, the artwork’s form captures this enigmatic and elusive state, blending elements of magical realism, ambiguity, and uncertainty. The artist utilizes projected text, moving mechanical installations, photography, and ready-made objects to provide narrative clues for exploration. On a slowly moving convex lens, viewers continuously adjust their perspectives while observing the refracted and transmitted images. The intentional blur and ambiguity reflect the artist’s endeavor to juxtapose reality and illusion, and evoke a sense of purposeless wandering. Of special note is the moment when the lens reaches the bottom of the installation, where the light source precisely focuses on one of the men’s flashlights. This overlapping imagery further underscores the psychodynamics of “searching” and its associated state.

In this artwork, Yang Jie-Huai skillfully and delicately employs various forms to depict the elusive and ambiguous nature of desire. Viewers observe and experience the fluidity of desire, much like the shifting images created by the moving lens. You perceive it, yet it inevitably leads you to a place where nothing is clear.

About the Author | Wei-Tzu CHUANG, the curator of C-LAB and the former Editor in Chief of Artist Magazine. CHUANG has been highly interested in the diversity of contemporary art in Taiwan. Her research focuses on the change of artistic ideas and technology rendered in the exhibition and performance, as well as the gender issues in art history.

This article is included in the Next Art Tainan 2023 Album, edited by Shi-Yuan Xie, published by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Tainan City Government, Oct, 2023.