'Plants & Planters' (Chinese: 上芳 shàng fāng) represents a small-scale gardening and floral shop with a green background and white lettering sign.
Artist Huang Shun-Ting's latest exhibition, 'Plants & Planters,' draws inspiration from a physical flower shop situated beneath his residence, using its name as the title of the exhibition. The Chinese character '芳' comprises '艸' (cǎo, meaning "grass") above and '方' (fāng, meaning "square") below, symbolizing the interdependency between plants and vessels showcased throughout the exhibition. Beyond merely enhancing the fragrance of flowers and plants, 'Plants & Planters' embodies implicit meanings related to imagery, forms, and symbols, projecting notions of 'above' or 'beyond,' thereby unveiling the interdependence between planting/planters and natural/decorative elements.
The artist, choosing real-life spaces as the subject matter, doesn’t intent to replicate scenes as they are seen but rather seeks to portray real-life scenarios drawn from extended, intimate yet distant observations—a space of imagination nurtured through his connection with the flower shop, capturing the concealed scenery that might have always existed.
It could be said that ‘Plants & Planters’ is more than just a flower shop; it embodies a type of flower shop commonly found in Taiwan, symbolizing a distinct and representative aesthetic. This exhibition attempts to use this representation as a reflection to showcase the present-day local culture of Taiwan, capturing the hidden Taiwanese identity within the surroundings that remains elusive to define explicitly.