Ticko LIU: And yet it moves 
廖諱衡《我們環繞着什麼旋轉》
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19 October – 16 November 2024

​Gallery EXIT presents ‘And yet it moves’, a solo exhibition by local artist Ticko LIU, featuring 14 new works by the artist revolving around the ‘meaninglessness’ of the everyday. Sensing the immensity of the universe and the brevity of life, hence the insignificance and meaninglessness of human existence, the artist accumulates and organises these futile instances, capturing and transforming them into beautiful landscapes, i.e. art as a form of existence. In this body of work, LIU attempts to transform the various messages and meaningless events encountered during his daily transits into sentiments and images, to be transferred onto the canvas. During transit, a multitude of noises flash at him: The vehicles going back and forth on the opposite lane, street lights, distant stars and the moon; each projected light constitutes a message, evoking a separate world complete in itself, whispering to him. On the highway, headlights are like shooting stars, just as the Earth and other planets orbit the sun, and the solar system orbits the Milky Way. LIU gathers up these light fragments, ponders their meaning, as he searches for his own place among all things in the universe.
 
The exhibition title refers to Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’, in which recounts the protagonist’s spiralling trajectory to and fro Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. This is compared to the ways the individual revolves around everyday life, the vehicles on the highway revolving around Lion Rock, the Earth revolving around the Milky Way, rushing towards the centre of the galaxy: a mysterious end. ‘And yet it moves (Italian: E pur si muove)’ is a phrase attributed to Galileo in 1633 after being forced to recant his claims that the Earth moves around the Sun. The viewers must ask themselves: Is the consciousness in the centre, or orbiting?
 
Greeting the viewers, the large painting ‘Revolve around its own axis’ is the centrepiece of a group of thirty small paintings opposite. Based on Ma On Shan, the lush mountain vegetation undulates against a bright orange background, and a ring of asteroids hovering above seems to be orbiting the mountain range. This motif of the orbiting spheres run through the exhibition, a symbol of the constant flow of time and unconscious growth. The thirty small paintings echo the daily noises surrounding the mountain. Through this imaginary landscape, the artist explores the relationship between entity and noise, the unity of society as a whole and the uniqueness of individuals. In ‘heaven, earth and man’, the artist quietly observes the wild flowers and grass along the highway, comprehending his existence in the gaps between heaven and earth as he gathers up the noises.
 
The following section begins with ‘The sun and moon go round and round’ and ‘Kowloon Peak’, both distant views of mountains, with a central frame illustrating some narrative details. The former describes one’s helplessness driving home after work, while the sun also rises; the latter refers to romantic passion. ‘A few more minutes’ and ‘Five more minutes’ reveal the relativity of time: On the one hand, the lovers only want three more minutes to hold; on the other, workers take a smoke break and ask for the eternal five more minutes. All we ever want is more time.
          
The exhibition concludes with three works: ‘Smoke break’, ‘Heat death of the universe’, and ‘Everything under the sun’, representing man, the universe and consciousness respectively. ‘Smoke break’ describes how we accumulate nonsensical time and in the process forming a collective understanding. The mountain symbolises the accumulation of time, the many arms reaching for the end beyond the green clouds. Heat death is a speculation of the ultimate fate of the universe based on the second law of thermodynamics; taking the end of the universe as the climax of the exhibition, the painting is placed on the other side of ‘Revolve around its own axis’. The hands reaching for the orange flame resemble the archaic humans making fire: The past, present and future are one. Consciousness is the outstretched arms of Buddha, silently observing everything in the eternal galaxy.

安全⼝畫廊呈獻本地藝術家廖諱衡個展「我們環繞着什麼旋轉」，展出14件新作，主題關於藝術家於⽇常⽣活中感受到的「毫無意義」的事情。廖⽒有感宇宙之⼤⽽⽣命之短，⼈類的存在渺⼩⽽無意義；但藝術家能把這些毫無意義的事情累積梳理成感受，將之定格並以筆觸轉化成美好的⾵景，作為他存在的形式。
本次創作中，廖⽒嘗試把每天乘⾞時接收的不同訊息、毫無意義的事情幻化成感受和影像，再轉移到畫布上。在⾞上，各式各樣的雜訊朝他發光：
對⾯⾺路來回的⾞輛、路燈、遙遠的星⾠、⽉光；每⼀道投射過來的光都是訊息，代表⼀個獨⽴完整的世界，對他⽿語。⾼速公路上的⾞頭燈像流星
環繞着什麼旋轉，如同地球和其他星球環繞太陽旋轉，太陽系圍繞銀河系旋轉。廖⽒將這些⾮常微弱的光盡收眼底，思考其意義，從天地萬物找出⾃⼰的位置。展覽標題參考了但丁的《神曲》裏以旋轉上升的⽅式講述主⾓來回地獄⼈間，最終上升⾄天堂的層層經歷，以此對照個⼈環繞⽣活旋轉、⾼速公路上的⾞輛
環繞獅⼦⼭旋轉、地球環繞銀河系旋轉的層層遞升，⾼速奔向星河中⼼：⼀個謎的終點。英⽂標題「And yet it moves（意⼤利語：E pur simuove）」據傳為
伽利略於1633年所說的話，當時他正⾯臨宗教審判，被迫放棄⽇⼼說的主張。觀者需要⾃問：到底⾃我意識屬於中⼼，還是旋轉的⼀群?

揭開展覽序幕的⼤幅油彩布本畫作《我們環繞着什麼旋轉》，為對⾯⼀組三⼗張細⼩畫作的中⼼。畫作以⾺鞍⼭為藍本，橙⾊背景上綠⾊⼭脈植被在起伏，
上⽅⼀圈⼩⾏星似在圍繞這⼭脈轉動。球體軌道主題貫穿是次展覽作品，象徵時間運⾏以及⼀種無意識的成⻑。三⼗張⼩作呼應了環繞⼤⼭的⽇常雜訊。
藝術家藉這想像的⾵景，探討整體與雜訊、社會整體統⼀和個⼈獨特性的關係。《天地⼈》描繪藝術家靜靜地觀察⾼速公路上的野花⼩草，整合雜訊間，
明瞭⾃⼰不過存在於天地之間的夾縫。

展覽下⼀部份由《太陽追⽉亮》和《⾶鵝⼭》展開，兩者都是環⼭的遠景構圖，中間的窗⼝描述了⼀些故事細節。前者描寫晚上下班後駕⾞回家的無奈，
太陽照常升起；後者則是指涉男⼥之間的激情。《要多三分鐘》和《俾多五分鐘》揭⽰時間的相對性：這邊廂，激情下的⼆⼈只想要多三分鐘，好留住當下；
那邊廂正在享受煙 break 的員⼯忙裏偷閑，總是想要多無限的五分鐘。⼈真正需要的永遠只是更多的時間。

展覧以三件作品作結：《煙 break》 、《奔向熱寂》及《森羅萬象》，分別代表⼈、宇宙和意識。《煙 break》描述⼈們將無厘頭的時間累積，形成⼀種
默契的過程。⼭象徵了時間的累積，眾多⼿臂在搜尋綠⾊雲海外的終點。熱寂也叫熱死亡，乃根據熱⼒學第⼆定律（The second law ofthermodynamics）
有關宇宙最終命運的猜想。廖⽒以宇宙的最期為展覽⾼潮，置於《我們環繞着什麼旋轉》正後⽅，伸向橙⾊⽕焰的⼿猶如原始⼈鑽⽊取⽕，過去現在未來如⼀。意識是佛祖伸出的⼿臂，在漫⻑的銀河星⾠中，靜靜地觀察⼀切。