Reel 03: The Absence of Belief

The Absence of Belief considers the relationship between the invisibility of faith and the absence of imagery, exploring how emotions are shaped in the spaces between what can be seen and what remains unseen. The work is inspired by 萬千花蕊慈母悲哀 by 珂拉琪 (Collage), a song that captures the emotional weight of those left behind during Taiwan’s White Terror (1949-1991). Faith in such moments occupies a contradictory role, offering both fragile solace and a sense of futility. This work situates faith within a transitional space where reliance and doubt coexist.

In this work, blank projected images and the invisibility of faith converge, presenting "the unseen" not as a nothingness but as an active presence. Visibility does not inherently foster connection, while invisibility often becomes a potent site for emotional resonance.

The repetitive gesture of Buddhist prostrations forms the core of the performance, aligning the body's movements with the mechanical rhythm of the projector’s blank light. These synchronized repetitions create a one-sided yet deeply evocative dialogue filled with unanswered questions and acts of longing. Through its ritualized gestures, the work transforms the past into a participatory present, reframing history as an ongoing process rather than a static record. The parallel of blank projections and rhythmic movements reveals how the past persists—not as a distant memory, but as a presence embedded in the interaction between the visible and the invisible.

The Absence of Belief is a space for us to engage with faith as both a personal and collective construct, one that finds its form through the tension between absence and presence. By combining blank imagery with physical repetition, the work reflects on how invisibility shapes memory and emotion, creating a resonance that lingers beyond what can be explicitly seen or understood.

2024

Performance Installation (projector, slides, pillows)
dimension variable
20 mins

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