C&G Art Group’s "Jakarta Event Book"

2022/05/10 Views：255

C&G Art Group’s "Jakarta Event Book": From the fantastic Sixteenth-century landscape to the Twenty-first-century big data globe

By Constance Hsu

Chiu Chiehsen and his exquisitely framed map of Gaul.
Photo by Hsieh Yu-Ting.

C&G Art Group’s "Jakarta Event Book", scheduled to be presented at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts in 2021, has been a long time coming. This project, conceived by the duo Chiu Chiehsen and Margot Guillemot, is rooted in the artists’ contemplation of a single question: “What exists in the blurry space of a map?" Departing from a simple question that runs through time and space, they plunge into the world of cartography, transforming historic hand-drawn maps and contemporary geographic information systems into boldly creative works that challenge preconceived imaginations of global civilization.

In this riveting partnership, Chiu is the one who has always been fond of old maps. Back when he was living in Europe, Chiu often went on antique-map-hunting excursions to thrift markets. For our interview with the artists, we visited the C&G Art Group’s crowded workshop, where almost every wall is hidden behind piles of wood planks and paintings. When we asked Chiu about his map collection, he immediately sprang to his feet, reached behind all the canvases leaning against the wall, and retrieved an exquisitely framed map of Gaul. “This is the oldest map I have here,” he said with relish, “It was produced in 1532." The map was filled with sprawling with Latin names, recreating ancient Roman general Julius Caesar’s geographical knowledge he recorded during the Gallic wars.

Sea monstre on ancient map.
Credit: C&G Art Group.

When Chiu and Guillemot moved to Taiwan in 2017, they similarly started searching for antique maps of the island. However, this endeavor proved to be very difficult. “We realized that barely anyone in Taiwan used to make maps," on the other hand, maps made by international actors often exclude Taiwan. "In fact, map-making is an exertion of power. France has always attached great importance to cartography, which is why it has produced many maps for itself and other countries,” explained Guillemot. A map does not only substantiate the point of view of a nation but also shapes how people enter the world. For example, the publication of Itinerario—a book based on Jan Huyghen van Linschoten’s Eurasian sailing journeys and a key inspiration for "Jakarta Event Book”—introduced, for the first time, many Europeans to the socio-ecological landscapes of Asia. This became one of the seminal moments in the gradual construction of a globalized worldview.

Originally published in 1595, Itinerario—also known as Discours of Voyages into Ye East & West Indies— is a detailed travel journal written by Dutch merchant Linschoten after years of traveling throughout Asia and Europe. In addition to his first-hand account, Linschoten collected numerous stories and dozens of maps from sailors whom he encountered, compiling it all into a book with global ambitions, seeking to cover wide terrains from India, Indonesia, China, Japan, Europe to the Americas. In this process, Linschoten even transcribed the Portuguese government’s confidential documents, exposing Portugal’s sailing routes and weaknesses in India and Indonesia. After the book was published, Dutch sailors and merchants was able to use Linschoten’s information to challenge Portugal’s monopoly in East India trades; significantly, Linschoten’s book laid the foundations for the founding and flourishing of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) and British East India Company, which fiercely competed for trade monopoly throughout the seventeenth century.

It wasn’t long before the East India Company captured Jakarta and established its Asian headquarters there, making it a major hub of its commercial empire. In other words, Jakarta became the center of the first wave of globalization in history. "Jakarta is a focal point," Guillemot pointed out, "Although there aren’t long paragraphs about Jakarta in Itinerario, what is written in the book became the keys to East India." Starting with Jakarta, Chiu and Guillemot extend their horizons to the whole Asia, attempting to discover and trace the origins of contemporary globalization by studying the colonial trade of the Sixteenth century.

The Beginning in Jakarta Event Book.
Credit: C&G Art Group.

Linschoten - The Character in Jakarta Event Book.
Credit: C&G Art Group.

Guillemot said that Linschoten linked all parts of the world together by writing about his voyages. "People might have known that there were other people in far off places, but they didn't realize that they lived on different corners of the same earth. This book made everyone aware of each other's existence." Itinerario records the Jakarta in a time when Sundanese, Muslims and Portuguese merchants interacted and traded with each other. While the illuminations of this book broaden the horizons of Europeans, it led to the subsequent plundering and colonization of Southeast Asia, which might very well be the foreshadowing of Twentieth century globalization.

Chiu and Guillemot pointed out that apart from Linschoten’s Itinerario, another important moment in the history of globalization was when the world witnessed the first satellite photo of our planet. “That was when we realized that we all live on the same earth," said Guillemot. What particularly interests her is the construction of this “sense of a world” that has spanned many centuries. Therefore, for "Jakarta Event Book", Guillemot is creating a short video by overlapping modern-day satellite imagery with imaginative reconstruction of Linschoten's semi-realistic narratives and descriptions, virtually reviving the colorful figures from the Sixteenth century and letting them interact with the twenty-first century landscape of Jakarta.

In "The Eye of Linschoten", another piece in "Jakarta Event Book", Chiu explores the epistemological problem embedded in the essence of cartography. Chiu plans to carve an antique-style globe from Taiwan Cypress wood. However, instead of the natural elevation of the earth surface, the topography of the sculpture will represent big data information— potentially about global pandemic events—with hollowed regions where data is unknown. This work attempts to challenge the audience’s preconceptions of traditional media and digital art. Chiu used to study restoration and has expertise in woodcarving. In fact, he has long contemplated making a series of wood globes, but only now has he found a suitable concept. Chiu told us that he wanted to "scientize" the traditional globes, transforming abstract temporal-geographic data into topographical undulations. "Since the Age of Exploration, our imagination of a global community has evolved to include not only geography but also the movement of peoples and the idea of being collectively threatened by crises," explained Chiu. After he completes "The Eye of Linschoten", Chiu plans to further explore this concept, producing a total of 9 globes, each presenting global data of a major historical event. He wants to use these globes to transgress people's preconceived notions of "geography," creating a dynamic temporal-spatial worldview based on "big data wood sculpture".

An Antique-style Globe from Taiwan Cypress Wood.
Credit: C&G Art Group.

The Part of Transforming Abstract Temporal-geographic Data into Topographical Undulations.
Credit: C&G Art Group.

It seems, then, that "Jakarta Event Book"is a critical juncture in Chiu and Guillemot’s artistic oeuvre, a project that carries forward their past concerns and prefaces their next steps. The project is born out of the unique visions of these two artists, both unencumbered by the shackles of time and space. Guillemot, who is enthused by absorbing historical knowledge and realizing the ordinary people’s lived experiences, keenly captures the densely packed details of old maps and books, which in turn trigger her highly intuitive visual imagination. Chiu relies on the insights that he has accumulated from years of collecting old maps and learning about cartography, allowing these philosophical contemplations to serve as a springboard, and by way of utilizing traditional media, materializes his unique worldview. In the future, these two young artists will undoubtedly continue to exercise their respective talents and strengths, work closely together to challenge conventions, use big data and multimedia technology to create even more interesting works.

Who is “C&G Art Group”?

Chieh-sen Chiu (Taiwanese, born 1986) and Margot Guillemot (French, born 1993) met each other when they were both studying at Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-arts de Montpellier, France. After graduation, they moved to Taiwan, where they founded C&G Art Group in 2017. Their artworks incorporate socio-anthropological research and digital technology processes, interpreting Taiwanese culture and territory in boldly new ways. C&G Art Group has been featured in Taipei Fine Arts Museum, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, and U-mkt. Their new art project, “Jakarta Event Book,” will be presented in Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts’ upcoming group exhibition, “Pan-Austro-Nesian Contemporary Art festival,” in 2021.

The article first published in PAN Zine.
https://reurl.cc/ErXMGA

C&G Art Group’s "Jakarta Event Book"

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