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Play, download and edit the free video The Most Beautiful Scenery（Preview）.

2019
Duo channel video installation
4K, Color, Stereo
9’58”

This work comes from an attempt to observe the collective consciousness and aesthetic standards of plastic surgery in Korea during the 2019 Openspace Bae Art Residency project in Busan, Korea. After the Korean War in the early 1950s, the need for injured soldiers’ facial construction boosted, which indirectly started the trend of receiving plastic surgery in Korea. Due to the maturity of plastic surgery skills, Korean’s patriarchal cultural background, and the celebrity effect, this medical practice of facial reconstruction later shifted to serve the human desire for appearance and the pursuit of beauty. Nevertheless, upon Chen’s arrival in Korea, he realized that the plastic surgery there was not as popular as the mass media described, which manifests that the reality people are exposed to in contemporary times may only be an appearance recreated through mass media.

This work is a two-channel video work mapped with two parts of the scenario, shot underneath a large advertising board in Nampo-dong, a shopping area, and a must-visit spot for tourists in Busan. Chen installed a hidden video recording device underneath the advertising board, and images of people passing by were broadcasted on the board. Tourists were delighted as they found themselves shown on the big screen as a star. Before them, the beautiful scenery was like the “world-famous for 15 minutes” moment foreseen by Andy Warhol. The work is displayed on a TV screen and a projection, divided into a colorful inner world and a black and white outer world. The colorful area is a metaphor for devices such as computers and smartphones that one uses to receive information from social media everyday; while the black and white projection reflects the real world. Faces of figures entering the color area will be replaced with the face of a Korean actress, who is the most requested face at plastic surgery clinics, through deepfake software. Like the character development on social media, the contents of different accounts demonstrate indistinguishable attraction. The wonderful scenario that draws the viewers’ attention is the colorful life that is more real than reality.

However, as humanity embraces diverse values in the 21st century, will we also reflect on our values and judgments at all levels? At a time when biotechnology has advanced significantly, the CRISPR-baby scandal has caused a massive uproar. What is the reasonable scope of human “modification” technology? In the process of modification and enhancement, do we fail to keep the pursuit of diverse values? Alternatively, shall we pursue the ultimate transformation of aesthetic values?

最美的風景
2019
雙頻道錄像裝置
4K、全彩、雙聲道
9分58秒

2019年於韓國釜山Openspace Bae藝術駐村之計畫，觀察當地對於整容手術的集體意識以及審美標準。1950年代的朝鮮戰爭，間接開啟了韓國人對於整容的需求。這項重建面容的醫療行為，卻因為整容技術成熟，以及父權文化及明星效應的驅使下，逐漸轉為服務人類對於樣貌的慾望和對美感的追求。然而，在抵達韓國後，才發現當地整容的比例，並不如大眾媒體所塑造的那般普及，這也凸顯當代人類所接觸的真實，或許僅是透過媒體之眼再現的表象。

本作品為內外拼接的雙頻道錄像，拍攝於釜山街市南浦洞的大型廣告看板下方。此處觀光人潮川流不息，看板下方安裝了隱藏式錄影裝置，行經遊客的身影將會於廣告看板中播送。遊客發現自己竟也能以明星之姿登上大螢幕，便開心得手舞足蹈。面對眼前的美麗風景，彷彿此刻就是安迪沃荷預言的「成名的十五分鐘」。作品分以電視螢幕與投影呈現，將畫面分割為彩色與黑白的內外世界。彩色畫面區域隱喻日常接收社群媒體的電腦、手機等裝置，黑白投影區域則是現實環境的投射。進入彩色區域的遊客臉孔，將透過深偽技術（Deepfake）變造為整容範本榜上第一的韓國女星的面容，一如社群平台上精心營造的人物設定，不同帳號的內容卻是千篇一律的風情賣弄，彷彿吸引觀者關注點讚的美好生活，才是比現實更為真實的彩色人生。

然而當二十一世紀人類擁抱多元價值時，是否也會同步反思我們在各個層面中的價值判斷和體現？在生物科技長足發展的今日，透過基因編輯技術改造嬰兒胚胎，嘗試讓嬰兒對愛滋病免疫一度引起各界嘩然。究竟人類「改造」技術的合理範圍為何，而在改造過程中，我們是否失去對於多元價值的追求？抑或，我們追求的應該是對於審美價值的終極改造？

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