白色四方桌 Marshal Tie Jia - White Square Table

白色四方桌 Marshal Tie Jia - White Square Table

裝置 Installation，2013

The mythical realm that Marshal Tie Jia has guided me into has allowed me to experience a journey of legends and politics, as these stories slowly take shape between the island and the pond. At last, as I returned once again to the temple in Chinbe Village, I brought with me a white square table, where I recounted my entire journey to the Marshal. The Marshal wrote a poem for me on the altar table, and it reads, “Guest(s) from afar do have feet; root searching from the mountain to the village. The character for sentiment is comprised of a heart, harmoniously dwelling in Chinbe, from generation to generation, with the good name of Chinbe pass down for years to come.” Honestly speaking, although I have met the Marshal several times and have researched quite a bit about him; still, his world remains mysterious and foreign to me. I am unsure if this poem was written specifically for me by the Marshal or is it dedicated to the increasing flow of tourists in town. To me, the poem is quite elusive; perhaps it comes from the Marshal’s own inner sentiments. I think the only way for me to imagine or decipher it is from the stories and fuzzy inconclusive memories I’ve collected along my journey.

隨著鐵甲元帥引領我進入神話世界，我經歷了一段神話與政治的旅程，在島與池塘之間慢慢形塑成了這些故事。最後，我再次回到芹壁村的廟宇，帶了一張白色四方桌，重頭向元帥敘述了這整個旅程，這一次元帥在桌面上寫下了一首詩：「遠來貴客真有腳，武山尋根到溪村。情字半點心，同住石芹邊，祖孫代代傳，萬古芹流芳。」老實說，雖然我與元帥見了很多次面，也打探到了不少祂的事跡，但對於祂的世界我還是感到像團謎般非常陌生。我並不能確定元帥題的這首詩是寫給我，還是寫給逐年增加的觀光客，詩句讀來總覺得離我忽遠忽近，難不成是元帥在抒發自己的心情？我想，唯一能讓我想像的大概只有這趟旅程中，所收集到來自這些相遇者的故事與模糊不確鑿的記憶。