2012

Poppy, Golden Lotus, Dopamine​
​Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan

罌粟．金蓮．多巴胺
耿畫廊，台北，台灣

Su often presents contemporary assortments of traditional themes, borrowing from the floral paintings of Yuan Dynasty and others among the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, and incorporating interpretations and symbols of desire, lust and addiction in his work.
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As underscored by the title of the exhibition, Su positions the poppy, in association with opium and its medical and narcotic properties; the golden lotus, noted from the given name of Pan Jinlian in the book Jin Ping Mei, which is also referred to as The Plum in the Golden Vase, or The Golden Lotus, written by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (“The Scoffing Scholar of Lanling”—clearly a pseudonym); and dopamine, a organic chemical released in the brain through food, sex, drugs, and neutral stimuli, but most often associated with consumption and addiction, aside one another. Su integrates painting, silkscreen, installation and sculpture, working in multiple layers as he considers the application of loaded symbols, transforming meaning and interpretation through his work. A sea of foiled clouds, the act of “copying” paintings from the masters, layering pigment upon pigment and sanding the work to create a boundless stretch of visual rush— fantastic, coital, hybrid, psychedelic, indulgence and abstinence, along with addiction.

展覽取名「罌粟、金蓮、多巴胺」，源自維基百科中的解釋：「罌粟（學名： Papaver somniferum ），其中『 somniferum 』具有『催眠』的意思；是製取鴉片的主要原料，其提取物同時是多種鎮靜劑的來源，如嗎啡、蒂巴因、可待因、罌粟鹼、那可丁。」金蓮取自金瓶梅中西門慶與潘金蓮的故事。多巴胺（ dopamine ）則是一種用來幫助細胞傳送脈衝的化學物質，為神經傳導物質的一種，主要負責大腦的情慾與感覺，任何具多巴胺濃度的事物，皆有鴉片一般會上癮的功效。
蘇孟鴻此次展出的作品略分為四個主題，其一經常出現的牡丹花代表著貴氣華麗，作品表面不論是以金色顏料還是敷以金箔，皆呈現富貴人家的氣質，作品題名更大膽嘗試，取名為「每個中國人都該有的一張畫」。其二是取自故宮典藏的作品「元人老圃秋容軸」，奇石上兩株不同品種的菊花，爭相綻放著美麗的花朵，原作中的蜜蜂和麻雀，在蘇孟鴻的作品中以蝴蝶和蜻蜓取代，蝴蝶的羽翼其實是藝術家的側臉，代表著自己的 LOGO 圖騰，並以重疊排列的方式，營造萬蝶飛舞的氛圍。其三包括罌粟花在內的各款故宮收藏之花卉作品是此次展覽的主角，不同以往的色彩平塗，金箔雲海、臨摹古畫、顏料堆疊打磨後造成無止盡綿延的視覺快感，蘇孟鴻在作品表面呈現斑駁質感，畫面中似雲似水的造型牽引視線的流動，此系列同樣結合金箔的魅力，是絢爛華美的代表。最後，以潘金蓮與希臘神話中的牧神（ Pan ）交媾的平面繪畫與雕塑作品，作為呼應慾望與耽溺主題的具體標的。