Children’s Table
2025, installation
「一年只回一次『家』的我在停滯的時間中，回到了那棟不再有人居住的三合院。
因為開始做陶，我開始頻繁的回去苗栗鄉下的老宅。或許我的單獨出現在過往從未發生，周圍的親戚一一懷揣著好奇心前來關切那個從美國回來的孩子，我在奶奶家的角色也第一次由客轉主，小時候奶奶看見我們時說的『回來啦』也逐漸具象化。回家的『回』似乎開始有了歸屬感。
小時候奶奶家總是飄著茶香，似乎想讓來到這裡的人們駐足的久一些，長大後的我不熟練地學著他當年模樣招待著我前來造訪的朋友。或許不願承認她的離去，又或是不願承擔起大人的責任，就算家裡只有我，我仍舊選擇在『小孩桌』擺起我的宴席，直到那間電視的第四臺被切掉。」
展場中央為裝置作品〈小孩桌〉，設置於木平台之上，由一張大圓桌與十二個布墊所構成。藝術家回到自身的童年視角，重現每年返家時，家族聚會中小孩與大人相對、分開而坐的「小孩桌」情景。圍繞著木製矮桌的十二個布墊中，有兩枚為自老家帶來的椅墊，作為原始的小孩坐墊；其餘十枚則由藝術家親手縫製。布墊下方的地面印有老家中椅子的影像，這些椅子原本屬於老宅中「大人」的位置。坐墊與椅子影像之間形成對應的關係，指向家庭中角色與位置的轉換與重疊。觀眾被邀請踏上平台，席地而坐於布墊之上。這些手縫布墊象徵藝術家嘗試創造一個安全的空間，也反映她以「小孩」的身份出發，如同扮家家酒般，試探性地向「大人」的照顧與責任靠近。
At the center of the gallery is the installation Children’s Table〈小孩桌〉, presented on a wooden platform and composed of a large round table surrounded by twelve fabric cushions. Returning to her childhood perspective, the artist recreates the “children’s table” that emerged during family gatherings—where children and adults sat facing yet separated from one another. Among the twelve cushions, two are original seat pads brought from the family home, representing the children’s original seating. The remaining ten cushions are hand-sewn by the artist. Beneath the cushions, images of chairs from the family home are printed directly onto the floor; these chairs once marked the seating positions of the adults. The relationship between the cushions above and the chair images below points to the shifting and overlapping of roles and positions within the family. Visitors are invited to step onto the platform and sit on the cushions. The hand-sewn cushions symbolize the artist’s effort to create a sense of safety, reflecting her attempt—beginning from the position of a child, almost like playing house—to tentatively move toward the care and responsibility associated with adulthood.
(description written by Man-Ling Cheng)
