A gigantic installation comprised of one thousand ants surrounds the front and the museum building under the scorching summer sun and the sudden afternoon showers. Through its giant size and massive number, Chen Zhiguang employs a symbol that the public is familiar with to display his way of viewing the world. This army of ants cast in red iron with brown spots on the surface is a fresh, visually stimulating series that symbolizes our time after the artist has presented the electroplated, iridescent ants and the stainless steel mega-sized ants.
This artistic army of ants, titled Herd of Ants, embodies a vast array of ordinary people in a low-profile and unadorned manner. The artist hopes to use this inexpensive material of red iron to create a bunch of artistic ants that could be shared with the general public rather than being monopolized by a handful of art collectors. Moreover, the iron-cast ant army gathering in front of a museum and on its plaza has formed a spectacular site and created an opportunity of free association. For example, they could represent the diligent, hardworking artists who are endeavoring for a chance to show themselves in art institutions and be accepted by the public. In other words, the work could also be viewed as an allegorical installation that epitomizes "climbing to the top of artistic creation and soaring to the peak of history and culture."
Born in Zhangzhou, China in 1963, Chen graduated from the Department of Fine Arts, Fujian Normal University and shifted from painting to sculpture after graduation. In 2003, the ant sculptures established a unique form and aesthetic context of his own. Biologically speaking, there are actually over ten thousand and seven hundred types of ants, proving their powerfully adaptability to different environment. In terms of artistic creation, Chen uses the ants as a metaphor for individual human psychology and behavior. Each enlarged ant that he has completed throughout the years stems from varying psychological state and body language.
Artistic concept has always been at the core of Chen's sculpture, and he has developed various series, including the ants, lotus pond, opera stage, still life on the altar, etc. His work has been positively received by many curators and have been shown in exhibitions around the world. Among these series, the ant sculpture is the only one that has kept evolving—ants have undoubtedly become his sculptural signature and symbol of aesthetic identification. Like the constant propagation of ants, Chen also has continuous inspiration for his creation of ants. From a single ant sculpture that is heroically free-standing, to the representation of ants in groups, to the dramatic collective action of ants, these works echo their surrounding space and invite reading and dialogue from their viewers of different age and cultural background. Therefore, Chen's exhibition of the iron ants in front of the MOCA, Taipei, which "visit but not enter the museum," could actually be viewed as a kind of "social sculpture."
Herd of Ants is Chen's first solo exhibition in Taiwan. The creative idea of thousand ants crawling towards the museum as well as the sarcastic exhibition title in Chinese convey his personal interpretation of the artistic and cultural environment and his humorous attitude. Whether visitors come to the exhibition to see the work or simply happen to pass by, the artist sincerely hopes that everyone could have a relaxing time to enter a viewing process of first seeing the artwork, receiving and sharing its meaning, and eventually enjoying an inner resonance and exchange of feelings.