Invited by Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) to create a project specifically for the museum's Space C on the third floor, the Suho Paper Memorial Museum (located in the busy district of Zhongshan, Taipei) and Fenko Catalysis Chamber curated last year an installation entitled "Heterogenous" (still open at TFAM) highlighting the open and fluid quality of the venue.
The only institution of its kind, dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich legacy of paper craftsmanship, the Suho Paper Memorial Museum was founded in 1995 by Taiwanese papermaker Chen Su-ho.
In 2018 Chen also launched Fenko Catalysis Chamber, with a primary objective – to collaborate closely with artists and designers, engage in cross-disciplinary ventures, and breathe new life into the traditional world of papermaking. Fenko is indeed committed to develop and explore paper's potential.
In the past Fenko also ventured into fashion projects, producing sustainable paper yarn socks and a coat as well that came with a hanger crafted from driftwood collected along Taiwan's coast.
Fenko also embarked on collaborative endeavors, including a performance titled "Flawness," featuring renowned Taiwanese hip-hop musician and producer Razor Jiang, along with the contemporary dance troupe Horse that for the occasion performed in paper costumes.
Taking over the hallways of the third floor of Taipei Fine Arts Museum, "Heterogenous" transforms the space into a landscape of layered mountains and rocks. The Chinese name of the installation, "崎" (craggy mountains), conveys the notion of rugged and challenging paths, reflecting an artist's ambitious endeavours in pursuing their passion towards their craft.
Fenko's artistic director, Lino Lee, worked for the occasion with experts in lighting, theatre, calligraphy, and painting restoration. The result is an immersive experience that plays with light and shadows.
Fenko's goal in this installation was harmonizing these paper configurations with the clean, geometric forms of TFAM's modernist design.
These substantial paper structures form a world of light and pliable (rather than heavy and rigid) rocks. They challenge perceptions and evoke unfamiliar sensory experiences, prompting a fresh interpretation of these rock-like formations (that at times take on an eerie, ghostly appearance, reminiscent of otherworldly monsters).
Paper is almost a liminal material, occupying a unique space, straddling the boundary between the natural and the man-made. In this case different techniques were employed to make the paper structures – dyeing, kneading, tearing, folding, sculpting, painting, mounting, drying, and pressing.
Light streams through the space, permeating these paper structures that transform the museum into a natural landscape: at times they resemble icebergs or the sublime rock configurations seen in paintings like "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog" by German Romanticist artist Caspar David Friedrich.
Whether following the paper forms or wandering freely, visitors can traverse these vast formations, witnessing shifting colors and changing textures and considering how a physical world can transform into a psychological space, offering solace and silence.
The installation serves as a testament to the transition from traditional papermaking to contemporary innovation while hinting at the vast potential within this art form.
The spectral and surreal paper rocks and rocky landscapes could indeed be turned into the set for a fashion runway presentation.
Fenko may not be on the list of trendy set designers and artists on the radar of fashion houses, yet their mastery of minimalist and tranquil psychological spaces could serve as a refreshing and contemplative retreat for designers with a fervent desire to redirect the focus from grand sets back to the garments themselves.
