jameshsieh.com
Artist BioJames Hsieh is an artist from Taiwan who has a wild imagination and sense of wonder that allows him to have fantastical dreams. Hsieh is so fascinated by this fantasy dream world in his mind that he transforms it into physical reality, exploring various materials and forms to share his internal wonderland.
False Awakening, 2016-2017, Video, Size vary
By exploring various materials to present my dream fantasy. I tried to create a narrative form my fragmented dreams that recorded in my dream journal. In this story, the ant crushed into a unknown place and trying to figure out everything around it and starting its journey in this wonderland. It was the reflection of my own experience when I first came to NYC. The shifting scenes are also suggest to the dislocating feeling both inside dreams and as an alien/immigrant myself in reality. This video will be a forever on going video since the dream journal will be constantly updated.
discommunication from James Hsieh on Vimeo.
01 False Awakening, 2016-2017, Video, Size vary
I've been working on creating lots of soft sculptures to build up an immersive dream environment. But since I had made a short claymation to animate my fragmented dreams, I started to think about how to really activate my sculptures and bring them to live. This documentation of the performance was me becoming one of the creatures/characters of my dreams and trying to communicate with the other. The sound was emitted from the black flower as a way to communicate with the other one but there was no response.
Wanderland, 2016, Video installation, 140 x 80 inch
Expectation, 2016, felt, installation, 80x 35 inch
This project, my goal is to speak about climate change. In the installation, the ants surround the flower, and await for the arrival of the spring. The disorder of the seasons is causing the wait, and they are not able to collect seeds to save for the future.
Dream House, 2016, installation, cardboards, ropes and felt, 100 x 47 inch
In this installation, the alien ants are making dream nests. My work will be completed when the viewer goes inside the nest. Once inside, people can experience a different reality coming into life.
Dream House inside view, 2016, installation, cardboards, ropes and felt, 100 x 47 inch
Dream House inside view
Discommunication, 2016, Video, Size vary
I've been working on creating lots of soft sculptures to build up an immersive dream environment. But since I had made a short claymation to animate my fragmented dreams, I started to think about how to really activate my sculptures and bring them to live. This documentation of the performance was me becoming one of the creatures/characters of my dreams and trying to communicate with the other. The sound was emitted from the black flower as a way to communicate with the other one but there was no response.
The Wanderer, 2016, photo documentation, Herald square , size vary
Through a wearable sculpture, I perform an exploration of the urban landscape in specific time and places, continuing these clashes between a surreal context and real life. In this piece, I try to express the loneliness and lost of myself while dreaming by presenting the emptiness of the bustling places in New York City to create a surreal contrast.
The Wanderer, 2016, photo documentation, Roosevelt Island, Freedom Park, size vary
The Wanderer, 2016, photo documentation, Grand Central Station, size vary
The Wanderer, 2016, photo documentation, Roosevelt Island, Freedom Park, size vary
Artist StatementMy practice is a way of both exploring and connecting myself to my surroundings. My sculptures are a way for me to understand the world, whether it’s real life, a dream or part of my subconscious. I am interested in utilizing various materials and mediums like fabric and paint in order to communicate with the viewers and present them the world as I see it. The materiality I explore is both soft and solid and suggests a safe and secure place for childlike wonderment. Additionally, I transform objects between two and three-dimensional planes to resonate with dislocating feelings of dreams. I strive to re-activate the viewer’s childhood memories and childlike curiosities.
I am dedicated to creating dream environments by approaching sound and space and allowing the viewer to experience them in a sensorial way. Moreover, I also approach stop-motion animation to transform my dreams into visual narratives. Most of my works are inspired by nature, such as flowers and plants. It is also connected to my childhood memories, growing up in the countryside, and spending all of my time with my grandparents in their garden. I like to use playful and childlike ways to communicate serious and adult subjects, emphasizing contradictions between childlike qualities and the darkness behind them.
By transforming my installations into dream places, I want them to engage with reality. Furthermore, through wearable sculpture, I perform explorations of the urban landscape in specific times and places, continuing clashes between a surreal context and real life. I try to express the loneliness and loss of myself while dreaming by presenting the emptiness of bustling places in New York City to create a surreal contrast. Ultimately, I propose performances to interact and engage with the public to explore more possibilities of its potential performativity.