Swiss-German artist Matthias Garff uses intriguing qualities of discarded materials and everyday items to create lively and distinctive animal sculptures. His first solo exhibition in Taiwan, "City Dwellers," invites viewers to delve into the hidden aspects of urban life through a new series of works inspired by his travels in Taiwan in 2023.
Garff's working process involves creating multiple figures simultaneously, allowing the shapes of various materials to influence one another, thereby giving each sculpture its unique character. Similar to the roles within human social structures, different animals possess distinct roles within their groups. Garff emphasizes the diversity of nature through his presentation methods in this exhibition. Central to the exhibition is a 230 cm high night-heron, towering over viewers, offering a perspective of seriousness rather than mere cuteness. At the end of the exhibition hall, Garff's self-portrait as a gray cat engages with a sculpture of an animal in rubber boots. Whether it's a human dressed as an animal or an animal standing upright in human clothes, these artworks blur the lines between animal and human identities.
The sculptures are deliberately placed throughout the exhibition space to reflect on their coexistence with humans in Taipei's hidden corners. Works on walls feature insect specimens and collages of pigeons assembled from Taiwanese and German street finds. A macaque made from an old school bag sits on a low pedestal; a tiny mouse from sauce boat rests on the floor; a small black dog from a trumpet case crossing the counter. Above, blue magpies from a skating shoe and a woodpecker from a pot oversee the exhibition space. Viewers first encounter Garff's sculptures, initially noticing their forms, and then are drawn in by the recycled waste and found items that compose them. This viewing experience encourages reflection on human resource utilization and our relationship with nature.
"City Dwellers" celebrates the diversity and beauty of Taiwan’s wildlife, and reflects on different levels on our coexistence with these non-human creatures who have not only made our habitat their own, but also formed their bodies from the abundance of objects in our throwaway society.