"Survey of Land - Exhibit by Lo Sen-Hao" American Cultural Center April 12 - June 28, 2000

PR0019E | Date: 2000-04-13

The American Cultural Center lobby display cases will present an exhibition titled "Survey of Land - Exhibit by Lo Sen-hao," April 12 - June 28, 2000. The exhibition presents Lo's new works focusing on environmental protection.

The American Cultural Center lobby is open to the public from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon until 6 p.m. through Saturday. It is closed Sundays and holidays. The American Cultural Center is located at 54 Nan Hai Road, Taipei.

Lo Sen-hao graduated from National Taiwan Academy of the Arts and received his Master of Arts degree from Staatlich Akademie der Bildenden Kunst in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1993. He is an instructor at National Taipei Normal College and is a juror of the Review Committee on Public Art. He is a former director of the Planning Office of the Ceramic Museum in Ying-ge.

He held his first solo exhibit at the American Cultural Center in 1987. Since then, the subject matter of his art has involved many themes, always associated with land, environment, and culture. Lo usually uses found objects and ceramic techniques in his works and presents his concepts through the format of installations.

Having grown up in a rural area, Lo has an intimate feeling for the land. As he grew up, he witnessed the transformation from rural to industrial society. Everything he knew from childhood was destroyed, while new surroundings were built, torn down, and rebuilt. The countryside changed dramatically due to the development of industry and commerce.

Lo's work explores the question of what Taiwan's culture is. He believes people in Taiwan have an unclear sense of identity. The physical and cultural aspects lead Lo to conclude that land is the force that brings a sense of stability. He believes art should stay close to the land to purify the environment and to command respect for the land. He seeks to convey the message that if we contaminate the environment we contaminate ourselves, and if we respect the land we respect ourselves. One of the reasons he prefers the medium of ceramics is that the material comes from the earth.

Thus, the materials Lo used for the works in this exhibit are various kinds of glass bottles and discarded objects he found in the mountains. Lo fired the bottles, then stuffed discarded objects such as broken bowls, wires, and garbage into the softened bottles and shape them into sculpture. The shaped bottles portray scenes or abstract personages; the mouths of the bottles look like screaming mouths of human beings, and the twisted sculptural forms imply human bodies reacting to the destruction of the environment. Juxtaposed to the re-sculpted bottles is a set of identical bottles in their original form, symbolizing the greatness of human civilization and the advance of technology. Lo tries to remind people that the advantages of technology must be balanced by commitment to cherishing the earth as the source of life.