泥土變形記 二 Mud Metamorphoses II
單頻道錄像聲音裝置9分42秒、易北河淤泥雕塑、紙本文件、紙本手冊、鋁材、現成物，尺寸不依。
FRISE 藝術機構藝廊，漢堡，德國，2024。
Single-channel video installation with sound 9 mins 42 sec, Elbe River mud sculptures, paper documents, aluminium plate, readymade, dimensions variable.
Künstler*innenhaus FRISE, Hamburg, Germany, 2024.
港口作為貿易的具體場域，是社會性與物質性的流動場所。延續2022年《泥土變形記》探討市場機制中的物質轉化過程，涉及資源研究、制度批判與社會政治關係圖，聚焦於易北河的加深工程與再淤積現象，以及其與全球貿易的連動關係。《泥土變形記二》近一步將研究範圍擴展至半導體產業的資源安全，探索環境與地緣政治議題的交錯，揭示這些交易動態中不可避免的衝突與脆弱性，並以易北河泥土雕塑、詩意的影像、繪畫文件等形式呈現。
Harbors, as concrete sites of trade, are spaces of social and material fluidity. Continuing the exploration from the 2022 project "Mud Metamorphosis," which delves into the processes of material transformation within market dynamics, the work navigates between resource research, institutional critique, and socio-political relations mapping. The focus lies on the deepening and re-siltation of the Elbe River and its connection to global trade. In "Mud Metamorphosis II," the research scope is further expanded to include resource security in the semiconductor industry, exploring the intersection of environmental and geopolitical issues. The work reveals the inevitable conflicts and vulnerabilities within these transactional dynamics, presented through Elbe River mud sculptures, poetic video, and drawing documents.
在《泥土變形記》作品裡，2022年漢堡港股權部分出售給中國中遠海運公司（COSCO）的事件是一個關鍵的背景。當時，漢堡港的股權出售由35%降至24.9%，使中國公司無法達到影響決策的25%否決權。中國作為全球製造業的主要國家，持續擴大貨櫃船的製造規模，易北河河道隨之必須不斷加深，進而降低運輸成本來提高港口的吞吐量，這些變化給港口帶來了更大的經濟收益，但也加劇了地緣政治的複雜性。
臺灣海峽作為全球40%集裝箱貨物運輸的主要通道，隨著COVID-19疫情的影響，全球晶片供應鏈出現嚴重短缺。2021年，德國面臨汽車業對半導體晶片的高度依賴，曾向臺灣尋求優先出口晶片的幫助，臺灣則希望德國協助獲取COVID-19疫苗作為交換。然而，鑑於地緣政治因素及德中經濟關係的緊密性，臺灣的請求最終未能實現。
《泥土的變形II》進一步將淤泥轉化為晶圓的象徵性雕塑，模擬了半導體製造、封裝與包裝的過程。這些淤泥來自於易北河的淤積，這些淤泥具有污染性，並且是被視為不受歡迎和被利用的廢棄物質。這個不精準、惡臭的、骯髒的、不完美的製造過程，彷彿在描述面對經濟利益時必然忽略對人道價值的追求。
《泥土的變形II》中的錄像作品《Marginal Remnants》這部短片在國際貿易與資源安全的全球化背景下，深入探討了港口貿易、半導體產業及勞動製造系統中的剩餘物質—淤泥、塵埃與汗水—所隱含的社會與經濟意涵。以剩餘物作為敘事主軸，影片揭示了在資本主導的系統運作中，這些物質經過層層過度與轉化後，最終被系統排除的現象，從而揭開了系統內在的矛盾與衝突，並批判全球政治與經濟秩序中工具理性所帶來的結構性問題。
In “Mud Metamorphosis,” the partial sale of shares in Hamburg Port to China’s COSCO in 2022 serves as a key backdrop. The shareholding was reduced from 35% to 24.9%, preventing COSCO from gaining a veto right at the 25% threshold. As a major global manufacturing power, China has continued to expand the size of its container ships, necessitating the deepening of the Elbe River to reduce transportation costs and increase port throughput. These changes have brought greater economic benefits to the port but have also intensified geopolitical complexities.
Additionally, the Taiwan Strait, a critical route for 40% of the world’s container shipments, saw heightened tensions amid the global chip shortage triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In 2021, facing a severe dependency on semiconductor chips for its automotive industry, Germany sought Taiwan’s help for prioritized chip exports. Taiwan, in return, requested German assistance in securing COVID-19 vaccines. However, due to geopolitical factors and the close economic ties between Germany and China, Taiwan’s request was ultimately unsuccessful.
“Mud Metamorphosis II” further transforms the silt from the Elbe River into symbolic wafer sculptures, simulating the processes of semiconductor manufacturing, packaging, and assembly. This silt, laden with pollutants and seen as unwelcome waste, becomes a material to critique the pursuit of economic gain at the expense of human values. The imprecise, malodorous, dirty, and imperfect production process echoes the neglect of humanitarian concerns in favor of economic interests.
The film “Marginal Remnants”, set against the backdrop of globalization, international trade, and resource security, delves deeply into the socio-economic implications of remnants—silt, dust, and sweat—within the contexts of port trade, the semiconductor industry, and labor manufacturing systems. By using these remnants as the core element, the film exposes how, within capital-driven systems, these materials undergo layers of excess and transformation, ultimately facing rejection by the system. This process uncovers the inherent contradictions and conflicts within the system, while critically addressing the structural issues brought about by Instrumental Rationality in global political and economic orders.
Marginal Remnants 剩餘物
Marginal Remnants. 4K Video 9’42” with sound, 2024
Work as Tide.
Elbe silt, guardi gel colorless on aluminum plate, 100x20x0.6cm, 2024.
Details of “Work as Tide“
Film Guild Book. Link print on paper, 2024.
Wafer Sculptures 晶圓雕塑
Wafer Set
Guardi gel colorless, Elbe silt, aluminum wire, 26x26x35cm, 2024.
Mud Metamorphoses II Scuptures set 泥土變形記二雕塑組
Packaging 02. Glue, Elbe silt, 17x13x5cm, 2024
Mud Metamorphoses II. Glue, Elbe silt, guardi gel colorless, dry leaf fibres, aluminum plate 100x15x0.5cm, 2024.
Packaging 01. Dry leaf fibres, guardi gel colorless, Elbe silt, aluminum bag, paper board.26x15x2.5cm, 2024.
Mud Metamorphoses I. Elbe silt with glue on wood board, 60x40x1cm, 2024.
影像導演、拍攝、剪輯、混音、口白｜許懿婷
演員｜陳宥瑋
感謝｜林奕碩協助口白音檔後製
贊助｜臺北市政府文化局
Film Director, Photographer, Editor, Colourist, Sound Editor, Words and Voice Actor｜HSU Yi Ting
Actor｜CHEN Yu Wei
Special thanks to｜Lin I Shuo, helping with the voice recording editing.
Sponsor｜Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government.
