"I said we could have everything."
"We can have everything."
"No, we can't."
"We can have the whole world."
"No, we can't."
"We can go everywhere."
"No, we can't. It isn't ours any more."
"It's ours."
"No, it isn't. And once they take it away, you never get it back."
"But they haven't taken it away."
"We'll wait and see."
— Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway [2]
3.
A microcosmic world seems to have been formed in the exhibition space of MOCA, Taipei. Xiang's “Nudes” series includes sculptures of various female forms. They are erected inside each exhibition room, with some juxtaposed with the animal sculptures from the “Otherworld” series. Overall, the series of the “Nudes”, “Otherworld”, or even the “Mortals” are all presented in a dramatic manner with a strong dynamic appeal. The ways they are placed and the dialogues formed between the artworks seem to project a narrative intent, yet in an elusive way. This clear yet implicitly subtle situation is probably one of the most ordinary yet interesting things in this mundane world.
This dramatic force is derived from everyday resistance.
The exhibition, “Will Things Ever Get Better?”, consists of many female forms from the "Nudes" series. They appear to be depictions of ordinary women. During the exhibition, I had a chance to talk to Xiang about her art. As we walked in and out of each exhibition gallery and walked up to each artwork and stood next to the "Nudes", it became apparent that there is a similarity between the "Nudes" and the artist, and I became aware that although Xiang does not base her art on any model and does not strive for real-life depictions with meticulous details; however, the "Nudes" still incite a transference effect. There is a resemblance to the people alive in this world, which is portrayed in her unique abstract approach. These artworks, created around 2007, reflect the creative subject Xiang was