Chang Wen-Hsuan, The Compendium of Autobiographies, 2016–2026. Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous support from Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Sydney and the exhibition project Discordant Harmony. Courtesy of the artist and Chien Po-Hsun, Tseng Yen-Ting, Chiang Tao © Chang Wen-Hsuan. Installation view, 25th Biennale of Sydney, Rememory, 2026, Lewers: Penrith Regional Gallery. Photograph: Maja Baska.
Chang Wen-Hsuan, The Compendium of Autobiographies, 2016–2026. Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous support from Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Sydney and the exhibition project Discordant Harmony. Courtesy of the artist and Chien Po-Hsun, Tseng Yen-Ting, Chiang Tao © Chang Wen-Hsuan. Installation view, 25th Biennale of Sydney, Rememory, 2026, Lewers: Penrith Regional Gallery. Photograph: Maja Baska.
Chang Wen-Hsuan, The Compendium of Autobiographies, 2016–2026. Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous support from Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Sydney and the exhibition project Discordant Harmony. Courtesy of the artist and Chien Po-Hsun, Tseng Yen-Ting, Chiang Tao © Chang Wen-Hsuan. Installation view, 25th Biennale of Sydney, Rememory, 2026, Lewers: Penrith Regional Gallery. Photograph: Maja Baska.
自傳大系 (2026)
The Compendium of Autobiographies (2026)
2016-2026
Documents, publications, stationery, file folders, audio-visual installation
Audio-visual installation: 15:00 minutes, English. Dimensions variable.
《自傳大系》在雪梨雙年展的改版，將展場變成一個某人紀念館澳洲分館的籌備辦公室，空間分成兩個部分：展覽組由《某人傳》（2016-2019）改編，研究組則由《自傳大系》改編。
除了物件及檔案之外，觀眾踏入展間之後，將會進入由錄像、聲音、劇場燈光所組成的沈浸式無人劇場，並看到不在場的館員們為了再現「某人」的生命史陷入敘事困境，包含：會議簡報討論著因為展品選擇而遇到取消贊助的威脅；專書的外部編輯在線上會議中抱怨研究組館員們的編輯建議太過分歧；以及從答錄機傳來各方社會人士對這個館的建議、抱怨及索求。透過以謝雪紅及其生命史寫作相關的研究為基礎，這件裝置企圖將歷史書寫從抽象概念轉變成可感知的體驗。
Commissioned by the 25th Biennale of Sydney, this adapted iteration transforms the exhibition space into the "preparatory office" of the Memorial Museum Australia Branch. The theatrical scenography is divided into two distinct sections: the Exhibition Department, drawing from ____'s Autobiographies (2016–2019), and the Research Department, derived from The Compendium of Autobiographies (2016–2018).
Beyond physical artifacts, an immersive interplay of audio, video, and lighting guides the audience through the historiographical struggles faced by an absent museum staff. From keynote meetings discussing budgets and permanent exhibition plans to video calls with an external editor over conflicting editorial directions, and answering machine recordings capturing a spectrum of public inquiries and disputes—this project seeks to transmute the abstract process of historiography into a perceptible, lived experience.