tos 56, 58, 60, 62 By Sofia Wu

CNA Staff Writer



They come from different countries and have different creative bents, but they all share a common interest for carving driftwood into marvels that will bring good fortune to Taiwan.

Every artist has his or her vision, but their works nevertheless share the themes of remembrance, respect for Mother Nature and the celebration of rebirth and revival.

Dozens of artists from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Canada are gathered in a scenic coastal park in eastern Taiwan’s Taitung City facing the Pacific Ocean, where they are sculpting lifeless driftwood into decorative items and installation artworks.

The driftwood is all a result of Typhoon Morakot, which devastated Taiwan in early August, leaving more than 700 people dead or missing and thousands homeless.

Coastal areas of eastern and southern Taiwan were swamped with an estimated 1 million of tons of driftwood in the wake of the typhoon, as the storm cut a swathe through the country’s forests and washed down many precious trees and deadwood from the mountains to the sea.

In Taitung County alone, 177,000 tons of driftwood have so far been collected and the cleanup work is still very far from over.

While the Council of Agriculture’s Forestry Bureau went into brainstorming mode thinking of how to dispose of the wood, Chang Pin, head of the bureau’s Taitung Forest District Office, came up with the idea of inviting artists to turn the “waste into gold.”

His concept immediately won the heart of Lin Yung-fa, curator of the National Taitung Living Art Center, who agreed to assist in organizing a series of events to bring the notion to reality, and cross-agency support from the COA, the Council for Cultural Affairs and several other government units allowed the wood carving fair to take place.

The COA has provided 3,000 tons of driftwood for artists from home and abroad to “breathe new life into what was cruelly brought down by nature.”

For Chang, driftwood is not useless trash, but full of cultural, artistic and ecological value.

“It would be a pity if the driftwood were to be wasted… By organizing the event, we hope that with the artists’ aesthetic skills, new vitality can be infused into the waste wood, ” Chang said in an interview. “We believe the work created for this event will symbolize Taiwan’s re-emergence from the ashes of natural calamity.”

Lin shared his view, saying that nature is almighty and full of possibilities. “It’s painful to see so many beautiful centuries-old trees blown down by the storm… but it’s joyful to see the wood regain life under the dexterous hands of the artists… The artistic creations will help heal the wounds caused by Morakot,” he said.

The driftwood carving event started with an indigenous Puyuma ritual Nov. 21 and will run through Nov. 28, after which the works will be put on permanent display at museums and galleries around the country.

Eight huge pieces of deadwood have been erected in the beach park to symbolize the cruelty of Typhoon Morakot, Lin added.

A-Sun Wu, a renowned painter and sculptor, was invited to carve the centerpiece for the event and is working on a 1,000-year-old camphor tree uprooted by the typhoon. “The twisted roots and intricate gnarls of the huge old tree form a mysterious mass that looks awesome, like a black hole in the universe, ” Wu said in a recent interview.

Dubbed “Sun, Moon, Star, ” his work epitomizes the immense energy of the universe and consists of many images symbolizing the Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang, as well as the Tibetan antelope, the sharp-nosed viper or hundred-pacer snake sacred to the Paiwan tribe, the water buffalo and animal bones, to emphasize the importance of harmony between humans and nature.

“The universe is impressive in terms of its extent, its order, its beauty and its cruelty, and Nature is a great sculptor… I’m creating a work featuring the interaction between humans and Mother Nature… I hope my work will inspire viewers to look on the universe and nature with piety and reverence,” Wu said.

Kim Dea Hyean, an artist from South Korea, is engraving totems of traditional Korean guardian deities on a large chunk of cypress driftwood. He said he takes great pleasure in using deadwood as his creative medium. “Driftwood is a natural asset and a valuable material for artistic creation,” he said.

Japanese woodcarver Tomokazu Hamamoto has inscribed the Chinese character “zhou” on a piece of rosewood to highlight the theme of his work, which pays tribute to the spirit of the cosmos — magnificent, prolific and inexorable.

As indigenous people form the bulk of Taitung’s population, many aboriginal artists are also taking part in the event. Raheizi Dalifu, a Puyuma tribal artist, said he has long dedicated himself to driftwood carving because the medium is closely related to his tribe and the mountain slopes on which it lives.

“Whenever I pick up a piece of driftwood, a sense of nostalgia tends to well up in my mind. I think to myself: `this wood used to grow deep in the high mountains. How long did it live? How far did it float and how long did it stay unnoticed in a river valley or seashore before meeting me? Did my ancestors ever encounter it centuries ago? ‘ Such feelings often help enrich my ingenuity, ” Lahaitzu said.

His carving for the event is a work featuring tribal people singing and dancing on a beach under a bright sky to celebrate rebirth after a natural disaster.

Meanwhile, in addition to individual artists, eight local universities have organized a total of nine teacher-student teams who are also providing collaborative artworks for the event.

A student from the National Taiwan University of the Arts said he has learned a great deal from this kind of art creation. “The experience of carving a strangely shaped piece of driftwood is extraordinary to me and the event allows me to see for myself how an established artist like A-Sun Wu works, ” he said, adding that he and some of his classmates had been volunteering to work as Wu’s aides over the past few days.

As part of the ongoing carving art extravaganza, a collection of prize-winning driftwood-carved personal and interior decorative items are also part of the exhibition.

Since the start of the eight-day festival, many people have visited the park to see artworks being created, Lin said, adding that a 90-minute pop concert that has been held each day from 7 p.m. has also attracted huge crowds.

“I’m gratified to see the enthusiastic public response to the festival… As driftwood carving and driftwood installation art have long been popular in eastern Taiwan, I hope the event will help further boost the art form’s development and catapult Taitung into the international limelight as a `mecca for driftwood art, ‘” he added.

Speaking at a seminar on driftwood art and living aesthetics that took place on the opening day of the festival, noted writer Gu Meng-ren said cutting and shaping driftwood into artistic works is a form of returning to nature.

“Driftwood is one of the most primitive and simple media for art creation and conforms with the prevailing penchant for environmental protection, ” Gu said, adding he hopes measures can be worked out to store more of the driftwood for future artistic creations or other meaningful use.

More Info: http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=172568&CtNode=39