“Sacrifice” 犧牲– 127x97cm- Oil on Canvas, 2010
Mixed media using real Taiwanese ‘ghost money’. The kid and his dog are dressed up as chickens using the paper money; there’s a happy contrast between the dour, unpleased kid and his dog’s expressions and the surprise of the chicken costume. Mr. KFC is actually a Chinese guy wearing a KFC costume – he’s holding a can of kerosene and a lighter with a gleeful expression. All is set to go up in smoke.
Interpretations: forcing children into roles/lifestyle that don’t suit them, dressing them up as dolls for the pleasure of adults, or due to the unhealthy influences of the ‘fast food culture’. The Chinese man dressed in white as Kernel Sanders can represent the ‘whitening’ of Asian culture via the spread of Western idealism and globalization; this would be cultural ‘mimicry’ in the postcolonial Bhabhian sense.
The playboy symbol on the lighter further adds a sexual nuance to this piece. Wearing the grin of a dirty old man, the guy is obviously getting some sick satisfaction at the thought of ‘BBQing’ this kid. We could throw in all sorts of psychoanalyses…”I’ll get you my precious… and your little dog, too!”
We could even lean biblical; this painting may be interpreted as a modern rendering of the Old Testament scene where Abraham is ready to sacrifice his son at the Lord’s command:
“And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, “Abraham” and he said, “Behold, here I am.” And he said, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” (Genesis 22:1-2)”
All in all I would say it refers to Asian parents who are overly eager to push their children into the Western roles and lifestyles they’ve seen in the movies (studying English, playing piano, eating fast food, golden retrievers and SUVs) and thereby satisfying their own need for acceptance into the normalizing influences of internationalization.
這幅畫採用混和畫法,畫中使用真正的台灣「紙錢」將小孩和他的狗裝扮成雞的樣子。孩子和狗不悅的表情,與雞的服裝帶給人的驚奇感形成一個冷酷與快樂的對比。肯德基爺爺其實是個穿著肯德基服裝的中國人,他一臉開心地拿著一罐煤油和打火機,準備將一切燒光殆盡。
這幅畫富含多種意象。例如將不適合小孩子的角色或生活方式強加於他們身上、為了大人的娛樂而將孩子打扮成玩偶、「速食文化」帶來的不健康影響等等。穿著一身白的那位中國人扮成哈蘭德桑德斯(Kernel Sanders), 體現出亞洲文化在全球化和西方理想主義傳播的影響之下, 正在逐漸「白化」。帶有從文化的角度上來模仿巴哈後殖民思想的感覺。
打火機上那花花公子的圖更進一步為這幅作品些微添加一點情色元素。露齒而笑的那個人看似一位色老頭,很明顯想要把這小孩拿來「燒烤」以滿足他變態的思想。我們可以用心理分析的角度來解讀他的內心…「寶貝,我要吃掉你…還有你的小狗狗!」
我們甚至可以從聖經的角度來看這幅畫,舊約聖經中亞伯拉罕(Abraham)遵從神的旨意,準備犧牲他的兒子,這幅畫可當成該意象的現代版詮釋。
「經歷這些事情後,神為了要考驗亞伯拉罕,於是呼叫他。亞伯拉罕:我就在這。神說道:帶著你的兒子,你摯愛的獨生子,前往摩力亞,我指引你前往一座山,在那,將他獻為燔祭品。」(創世紀第二十二章,1-2)
總之,我想說的是這幅畫體現出亞洲父母一種過份的意願,也就是將自己的孩子套入他們在電影中所見的西方國家人物的角色和生活方式,例如學英文、彈鋼琴、吃速食、養黃金獵犬、開運動休旅車,從而滿足自己對接受國際化常態影響的需求。
Oil on Canvas Surrealism Oil Painting by Derek Murphy www.derekmurphyart.com