象徵嘉瑞之兆的犀牛是我長期創作的主題,在東西方美術史上,可說是絕少出現的題材。溫和厚重的犀牛,獨居森林、與世無爭,卻因珍奇醫材的犀角而遭人類迫害,瀕臨絕種。
從浪漫主義的觀點出發,創造了瀕臨絕種的犀牛家族,予以復甦,進而不斷摸索,衍生出了威嚴與崇高的金鋼犀牛,這也是象徵一個浪漫英雄意識的來臨。一隻巍峨雄偉、不銹鋼打造的犀牛被矗立起來,它幾何造形的身軀與背脊,在燦爛的陽光照射下閃閃發光,備受矚目;一柱擎天的鈦金犀角,以拔鼎的氣勢,昂首向天,劃破長空,角尖直刺入蒼冥,氣沖牛斗。放眼望去,金鋼犀牛面對威尼斯潟湖,穩如磐石般的佇立,它巨大的氣勢與威嚴,鎮定了周邊淘湧的環流與激蕩的地氣,它存在這樣一個時空環境,獨特的氣質讓人感受它與世無爭而怡然自得,超凡眾生且自我完整,永恆屹立於天地之間,褪去高山流水般的高冷姿態,以更加柔和自由的方式走進人們的生活,相信藝術力量將向人們傳遞源源不斷的正能量。
《金鋼犀牛》從泥塑、定稿、全身由數百片不銹鋼板經重重繁複的工序,全手工打造,切割、鍛造、焊接、打磨、拋光經歷700多個工作日;《金鋼犀牛》長888cm,高458cm,重近乎2噸,傳達了我的藝術精神。我以極富原始生命力的古靈獸─犀牛為雛形,犀牛的身軀融合極具東方神秘色彩的神獸,麒麟背脊與金鋼杵,並運用西方當代硬邊線條,挪用象徵工業文明的鉚釘結構,以現代主義未來派的手法,表達原始犀牛圖像與符號在具象與非具象的結合。當金鋼犀牛抬起它的頭部,由頸部開始,帶動一股上升的動力,原來犀牛水平建體涵蓋的理性、均衡與平靜,開始逐漸轉換成感情與意志,隨上升而凝聚增強,最後將被擠壓的激情,彙集到鈦金的尖角,它傳達我內心中所有的力道與激情,凝萃成創作和生命意義的中心思想。就像一道無形的光箭,發射到蒼冥,昂首無愧於天地。它更成為象徵著我中華文化中對公平、正義、積極向上以及不屈不饒的奮鬥精神;令我聯想到歐洲中世紀,哥德大教堂高聳雲端的尖塔,象徵基督教信仰至高激情的凝聚。作品運用不銹鋼銀色鏡面更強調其時尚的線條感,仿佛一座巨大的建築體,帶有棱角之水平背脊,架構在四隻巨大的犀腳上;幾何硬邊的外壁,加上不銹鋼材質鏡面特性,猶如現代建築變化多姿的牆面,凸顯材質的冷峻與犀牛質樸間的視覺衝擊與對話。
在當代藝術的動盪漩渦裡,我希望能掌握時代精神的趨向與脈動,結合科學技術拓展的可能與未來世界的想像,將傳統自然主義與生物屬性的犀牛,彙集東西文化的圖騰,一舉變身為象徵科學精煉與幾何硬邊的不銹鋼犀牛,也是我心中一個未來世界的象徵寫照,賦予犀牛前所未見的氣勢與威嚴,並彰顯犀牛不容過去的侵淩與屈辱,是物種崛起的徵兆。我將犀牛角轉變為大拇指,同心圓代表物種的DNA,「指紋」便是最主要的顯性基因,我將此符號運用至創作中,寓意各類物種的生命共性和宇宙的循環,生生不息的生命,更是我透過作品傳達的詢問和探索。作品所帶來的正能量必然會使人們在欣賞藝術品的同時感受到那份創造的艱辛、執著;體驗人與自然、人與動物之間如何和諧共存,同時見證著我在藝術創作中的多元性、深度性及與自然生命之間的結合,內斂的述說出東方之精神哲思。
雕塑又被稱為「立體的詩歌」,它與環境的關係是極為密切的,而此次受第57屆威尼斯雙年展邀請,為Marinaressa花園的公共景觀雕塑,展出我的代表作品—不銹鋼《金鋼犀牛》Marinaressa花園面向威尼斯潟湖,與威尼斯既有的歷史文明建築彼鄰,如安康聖母大殿、古根海姆博物館、聖馬可教堂。在威尼斯雙年展覽期間,運輸在潟湖大大小小的船隻,以及來自世界各地聚集在威尼斯的藝術愛好者們都能一睹金鋼犀牛的風貌;它成為來往綠園城堡等重要展館的黃金中繼站,金鋼犀牛仿佛是一個迎賓的標誌,用藝術的魅力吸引觀眾體驗威尼斯的別樣之美。
Shih Li-Jen's artistic creations have long featured the rhinoceros as a symbol of good fortune. The rhinoceros is a rare subject in both Eastern and Western art history, and the gentle yet sturdy creature has been relentlessly hunted for its prized horn, driving it to the brink of extinction.
Drawing from the romanticism movement, Shih Li-Jen has given new life to the endangered rhinoceros species by creating the majestic and dignified King Kong Rhino. This creature embodies the spirit of a romantic hero, standing tall and unshakable in its geometric steel form, with its titanium horn pointing towards the sky, defying gravity, and breaking through to the heavens.
The King Kong Rhino is a commanding presence, calming the turbulent atmosphere around it and conveying an otherworldly calm and inner peace. It is a complete being in its own right, standing eternal between heaven and earth, shedding its aloof demeanor and spreading positive energy to all through the power of art.
Crafting the King Kong Rhino was a laborious process involving hundreds of stainless steel plates and taking more than 700 days of hand cutting, forging, welding, polishing, and grinding. The sculpture measures 888cm in length, 458cm in height, and weighs nearly 2 tons, reflecting the artist's artistic spirit.
Shih Li-Jen has blended the form of the ancient and primal rhinoceros with the mystical Eastern creature, the qilin, as well as the vajra, and incorporated industrial rivet structures that symbolize civilization. The techniques of modernist futurism were also used to express the fusion of abstract and concrete images and symbols.
As the King Kong Rhino lifts its head, it embodies all of the force and passion within the artist's heart, crystallizing into the central idea and meaning of their life and artistic creation. Its titanium horn shoots into the heavens like an invisible arrow of light, head held high and without shame, transforming the rationality, balance, and calm of the rhinoceros' horizontal structure into emotion and will, gathering and intensifying its suppressed passions.