On the Other Side of the Mountain

British poet William Blake’s Auguries of Innocence reads: To see a world in a grain of sand / And a heaven in a wild flower / Hold infinity in the palm of your hand / And eternity in an hour. This poem tells us that the universe an individual sees is subjected to the perspective and angle he takes. A big rock is a planet in the eyes of an ant; yet, the ant does not know it. An ocean of flower is the universe in the eyes of a butterfly; yet the butterfly does not know it, either. As the body is trapped inside, the eyes fail to see the world outside, in which it is located. Should the heart dwell in desires, one fails to sense where he is. Hence, people, unable to see themselves in danger, lose the most fundamental sense of judgement as well. In Taiwan, a small island it is, on which the Han people in the west coastline leads a life of profit and competition. They fill the ocean to reclaim lands from the Nature. They develop industrial parks as a tribute to the magnificent industry that ushers in economic prosperity and satisfies the material desires of mankind, unable to acknowledge the fact that they are living on an ugly, deteriorating planet. Whereas the indigenous peoples in the east coastline preserve a more primitive, environmentalist, self-sustained tribal ecosystem, in awe to Mother Nature. They live in harmony with the Nature. Although a simple lifestyle it is, they are living on a gorgeous planet full of hope. Through the unique perspective of a 360-degree panorama camera, a small scale of landscape around us is spherically projected and morphed into a planet of its own. Taiwan has always been situated in drifting status of uncertainty ever since ancient times. The outlook of the society through industrialization over decades under the influence of capitalism is manifested in the surreal map of the small planet, so that the spaces in the east and the west coasts together with the environment may engage in a dialogue. The struggle between the industrial planet and the natural counterpart, the unbalanced regional development of the small island, the tug of war between farmland and factory as well as the indifference among people in the crowded cities, as if we live in a crowded universe yet aloof and desolate like a planet afar. The outer world is in truth the image projection and extension of people’s inner world, and the image is the reflection of the real world. In an attempt to go beyond the vision and perspective of humanity, the artwork captures the footages and images of Taiwan’s environment as it is via the experimental 360° camera drone for audience to see the real universe around us.

Biography

FENG Wei-Chung,Graduated from Graduate institute of Animation, Tainan National College of the Arts, and currently lectures at Department of Visual Communication Design, Chaoyang University of Technology. His animated works have won recognitions of domestic and international awards, such as Golden Harvest Awards for Qutstanding Short Films. Feng’s documentary films have been featured on PTS’ Viewpoint. Loves to experiment with new creative formats,and has delved into aerial photography and 360-degree video technology.
Feng is currently actively involved in envirenmental protection decumentary movement.

Film Festivals and Award

2017 Coastline-360-degree Experimental video
2017 Digital Art Creation Competition Program
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
2016 on the other side of the Mountain 360-degree video
2016 Austronesian International Arts Award
2015 Unexploded Bombs, Digital art Taipei,Finallist
2013 On Happiness Road, Golden Horse Film Project Promotion
Grand Prize,Animation Director
2003 Rode to upgrade,Public Television Viewpoint Short Film Festival
2002 After the End, Public Television Viewpoint Short Film Festival
Mirror-Mystery Animation 2 Golden Harvest Awards
False&True-Mystery Animation 1 Golden Horse Film Festival Grand Prize