Why North？為什麼去北方？

“You might go north to find yourself, or lose yourself or simply be yourself.”

(Going North Roni Horn, by Gary Indiana)

“Why North？” is a three-channel video, including the footage that the artist documented from the Arctic Circle 2017 Autumn Expedition in Svalbard- a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. A total of 40 participants and crew sailed in a Tall ship along the west and north coast of Svalbard and reached Muffin Island (80° 01′ N 14° 30′ E) as the Northernmost point, which is only 111 km from the North Pole.

The artist juxtaposes the carefully planned routine activities with the responses to the unexpected incidents that arose during the journey, including being trapped by the ice pack in the Zodiac and crossing a partially frozen river to reveal the ambiguous relationship between the “explorers” and the delicate High Arctic environment, the intertwined connections between each participant’s single action to the whole group experience, and the hidden purposes of going North in both individual and collective level.

Watch 「Why North?」 Video (5 min excerpt)

「為什麼去北方？」作品內容取材於2017年10月期間，我與來自30個來自各國與不同專業背景的成員，和10位同行的工作人員，一同參與位於北極圈內的挪威屬斯瓦爾巴群島（Svalbard），為期三個禮拜的駐村經驗。在與外界幾乎隔絕的狀態下，40為成員共同航行和生活的過程中，自成為一個小型的社會生態系統。每個成員的行為和反應，都牽動著全部成員的駐村經歷。此三頻錄像作品，將幾段駐村的紀錄影片段交錯呈現，內容包括：被浮冰圍住的橡皮艇上工作人員的奮戰過程、於17世紀的捕鯨場，團員如何按照指示依序前進觀察海象的情景、以及在徒步造訪世界是最北地熱區時，如何協助彼此跨越尚未完全結冰的河面的過程…等。意圖透過這些看似平凡的集體行為，展示出潛那些藏著來到北方的目的。

觀看「為什麼去北方？」錄像(五分鐘版本)