P003 → To Cheese or Not to Cheese
"What is this?"—This is the question I fear most from viewers.
"Uh... it is whatever you see," I often pause and then respond this way, evading the question.
Chen Hsiang-Jung frequently simplifies everyday objects into abstract, geometric forms, imbued with a sense of purity. In terms of Saussure's semiotics, his work seems to strip away the signified, leaving the viewer to focus solely on the signifier—the appearance of the object—emphasizing the form, color, texture, and other visual elements before them. In his work, the arrow pointing toward meaning or concept is not absolute, presenting a state of divergence and openness. He entrusts the task of linking the signifier and signified to the viewer, allowing for a variety of interpretations shaped by the viewer's cultural background and life experiences.
During his residency at the European Ceramic Work Centre (EKWC) in the Netherlands, Chen Hsiang-Jung used four common Dutch foods—Gouda cheese, stroopwafels, sausages, and croquettes—as prototypes for his creations. For the locals, these iconic foods are deeply embedded with connections to smell, taste, memory, and identity. However, as an outsider, Chen viewed these foods with a sense of detachment. He became fascinated by the vivid yellow wax coating of Gouda cheese, the way they are displayed in shops, the grid pattern on stroopwafels, the curvature of the sausages, and the slight sheen of their casings. To him, these foods have transcended their original context and become abstract entities.
「這是什麼？」這是我最害怕觀者對我提出的問題。
「呃．．．你看到什麼就是什麼」我經常停頓一下，然後這樣回答。（逃避）
陳向榮經常將日常生活中的事物簡化為抽象、幾何的造型，帶有一種純粹。若以索緒爾的符號學來說，他的作品像是去意義（所指 / signified），讓人停留在所見事物的表象（能指／signifier ），專注在眼前的造型、顏色、質感等。在他的作品裡，指向意義/概念的箭頭沒有那麼絕對，呈現一種發散而開放的狀態，他將能指與所指之間的聯結工作交給觀者，因觀者文化背景與生活經驗的差異而產生各種可能。
在荷蘭歐洲陶藝中心（EKWC）駐村期間，陳向榮以四種荷蘭常見的食物──高達起司、焦糖煎餅、香腸、可樂餅──作為創作的原型。對於當地人來說再熟悉不過的國民美食，自然乘載著嗅味覺、記憶、認同等連結。然而身為一位外來者，陳向榮帶著距離在觀看這些食物，他著迷於高達起司外層封蠟鮮豔的銘黃色，以及它們在店鋪中被展示的形式、煎餅表面的格子狀紋理、香腸彎曲的弧度和腸衣微微的反光等表徵。於他，這些食物已然脫離原本的脈絡，成為抽象的存在。
Work record photos at EKWC, with some photos taken by fellow residents, 2021