ORIGIN

The performance is set within the broader contemporary-art quest to recover territories of mystery and ambiguity in an age dominated by explanation and rationalization. ASO-Bi proposes that not all art needs to be understood in order to be experienced.

The inclusion of past videos in “Part 2” creates a reflection on Ten Pen Chii’s twenty-year trajectory, suggesting that the evolution toward the inexplicable is both continuity with and rupture from its earlier history.

The work demonstrates Ten Pen Chii’s ability to reinvent itself constantly, maintaining its interdisciplinary essence while exploring new territories of artistic research that challenge its own established methodologies.

CONCEPT

The term ASO-Bi is Japanese and means “pleasurable confusion” or “confused fun”. The work starts from a radical premise: “We cannot explain it, nor will we try.” This statement marks a significant break with Ten Pen Chii’s earlier works, which had always provided clear conceptual frameworks for their investigations.

ASO-Bi explores the possibility of creating art that deliberately resists explanation, that exists in the territory of the fantastical, the absurd and the grotesque without need of rational justification. This approach represents an evolution toward accepting mystery as a central element of the artistic experience.