Upon entering the exhibition space, visitors faced large pieces of driftwood occupying the center of the floor. On closer inspection, inscriptions of the Heart Sūtra, a well-known Buddhist scripture on Enlightenment, become visible. Although Tsai does not identify as a religious artist, her works often apply Buddhist concepts of emptiness and repetition, as evidenced in Driftwood (2011). Highlighting the sustainable practices of Taiwan’s indigenous communities, who collect the wood after typhoons and reuse them to build houses, the sculptural work becomes a meditation on the destructive yet also regenerative qualities of natural disasters. By rewriting phrases from the Heart Sūtra in ink onto the debris, Tsai further demonstrates ideas of impermanence and change as, over time, these inscriptions will fade. Echoing this contemplation of emptiness and flux, We Came Whirling Out of Nothingness (2018) gradually disperses Buddhist text into the void via scattered Chinese characters written over watercolor swirls on rice paper. Imitating the natural forms found on our fingerprints, plant structures, animal features and our galaxy at large, Tsai looks at existence as a cycle of repeated days, rituals and thoughts. 

On the opposite wall was a series of hand-inscribed photographs. In “Lanyu” (2012), the Heart Sūtra appears in less obvious detail than in Driftwood, surreptitiously written alongside the crevices of rocks and rippling water in images that capture different states of the sea surrounding the Lanyu Island of Taiwan, home to the indigenous Tao tribe. These photographs document the changing seascapes in the aftermath of a typhoon that battered the island in 2012. For Tsai, writing on various surfaces that recall natural changes and patterns is integral to her process of contemplating the Buddhist notion of emptiness in relation to tangible geography.

The exhibition concluded with two adjacent projected films, Bulaubulau (2018) and Lanyu: Three Stories (2012). The first video follows an indigenous community in Bulaubulau Village, Yilan. Pairing scenic shots of the tribe’s natural surroundings with a voiceover narration by community member, Kwali, who founded a vocational school in the village, the video documents the various threats imposed on traditional indigenous values and practices, from natural disasters, such as typhoons, to socioeconomic issues, including the limited opportunities for education and employment. Bulaubulau recounts the community’s efforts to protect their environment, as well as to break the vicious cycle of urban migration disrupting the continuation of traditional ways of life.

Charwei Tsai’s “Bulaubulau” is on view at the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Manchester, until January 20, 2019.

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