The title The Black Waves has multiple meanings within the context of the exhibition. Initially, the Black Waves recalls the history of ancestors crossing the Black Ditch (Taiwan Strait) for land reclamation, carrying historical and religious significance. Moreover, the word “black” signifies the imagery of industrialization and modernization’s pollution. “Black” also refers to the Kuroshio, a Pacific Ocean current that flows along the eastern coast of Taiwan. The mysterious sea current is full of power and vitality. The exhibition, exposing the audience to multiple connections with art, broadens their perceptions of themselves and the environment.
Despite being the wellspring of Taiwan’s culture, the ocean has remained taboo, isolated from our daily lives. Lin Chun-Yung as an artist, has long focused on the sea and the environment. He confronts harsh reality through his body, materials, and artistic actions. Through this process, he rediscovers the lost elements of life and hopes to find new vitality.
 


Wasteland
 
Wasteland discusses the increase in and pollution of marine waste, mainly reflecting the consequences of capitalism and industrial overdevelopment. Capitalism stimulates or controls the desire for consumption everywhere while fulfilling the desire through mass production. Countless products in modern consumer society rely on the petrochemical industry, which produces plastics that offer convenience and affordability to individuals but are virtually indestructible for thousands of years. The only cost is the unwanted pollution it leaves behind. In recent years, the global problem of marine waste has been continuously expanding and intensifying, leading to the degradation of the natural environment and posing a threat to various other species.
 


Plastic Whale
 
Plastic Whale uses cetaceans, pollution, and nature as the theme, connecting them with contemporary society and real-life situations. With large-scale installation artworks, it is hoped that the audience can observe these issues from the outside. Upon entering the artwork, the audience can feel environmental changes and species deaths connected to humans, the self, and every breath in the present moment from the inside.
 


Archaeology of the Sea
 
This area comprises the Whale Falls series and the GLGB series.
The Whale Falls series reimagines these cetacean skeletons, relocating them to deep darkness. Hence, dead cetaceans are transformed into ethereal oceanic wanderers and posthumous spirits. They surround the reflections of Kaohsiung Harbor, creating an absent-minded state of alternation between reality and fiction. These cetaceans become contemporary Angelus Novus. 
The GLGB series comprises four woodcuts dedicated to an island: Guishan Island, Lanyu, Green Island in Taiwan, and Batan Island in the Philippines. Through on-site research on several remote islands in Taiwan, Lin Chun-Yung sought to understand its unique history, geography, and landscapes. This exploration also includes past military conflicts, political confinement, cultural landscapes, and intense bodily experiences caused by the strong northeast monsoon prevalent in these areas. Furthermore, this series delves into the cultural heritage of the Austronesian linguistic family.
 


The Sea God Festival

The Sea God Festival is based on the Cutting Waves series of artworks. The Sea God Festival focuses on history, architecture, life, and beliefs. Through these dimensions, the exhibition aims to present a spiritual elevation that can be attained through the sea.
The Cutting Waves and similar series of artworks are inspired by traditional architecture. Artist Lin Chun-Yung combines architectural forms with the shape of waves, creating an internal structure of the paintings’ composition. He further elevates and transforms these elements through his artistry. Upward-curving shapes of swallowtail roofs seem to have a history while surfacing the history of humans against the sea. The artist creates the shape of the waves in various hues to represent history.