Excerpts from the Analects of Confucius
Peng Hung-Chih
彭弘智
Production date
2008
Object Detail
Media
video (colour, silent)
Measurements
15 min 39 sec
Notes
In the Canine Monk series, the artist writes a passage from a religious text on a white wall with oil, then covers it with dog food. His canine companion, Yukie, is videotaped licking the words off the wall. Replayed in reverse, the dog appears to be writing the text with its tongue. In Excerpts from the Analects of Confucius, the text thus revealed consists of particularly well-known passages from the philosopher, learned and recited by schoolchildren. Abandoning an earlier proposal developed during a residency in Hong Kong in which he planned to document his dog consuming drawings and maps of the district of Wan Chai, Peng Hung-Chih decided instead to use texts that represent human history and cultural knowledge. He said, ‘I thought how interesting it would be if the dog was consuming knowledge – will the dog become a scholar? Will it be that human history is being eaten by animals? But when you reverse the video the dog becomes the teacher, it’s upside down.’ Peng was also thinking about Buddhist and Hindu beliefs about reincarnation, speculating that his dog could actually be a human being in another guise.
Peng has consistently used humour to present ideas about empathy across the species divide, pointing out the dualism that, in its darkest manifestations, produces religious fundamentalism and tribal hatreds. His quietly humorous works thus have a compelling underlying narrative.
The Canine Monk series began with a Daoist text. Written at some time during the Tang Dynasty, ‘Qingjing Jing’ is the most popular Daoist scripture. It refers to the dichotomous nature of the world and humanity, and instructs human beings to seek tranquility through accepting one’s essential nature. The irony is that Peng’s beloved dog Yukie is expressing his essential nature through an act of voracious consumption. As he licks away the last tiny pieces of dog food, he is erasing an exhortation to seek purity through eliminating desire: dualism in action. There is a duality at play between artist and audience as well: we enjoy the amusing suggestion that the dog is the writer, but of course we know that it is in the nature of the dog to be greedily focused on food, and we quickly understand what is really happening. The darker undercurrent running through this series suggests that we can never overcome our worldly desires, our greed, envy and acquisitiveness.
Peng has consistently used humour to present ideas about empathy across the species divide, pointing out the dualism that, in its darkest manifestations, produces religious fundamentalism and tribal hatreds. His quietly humorous works thus have a compelling underlying narrative.
The Canine Monk series began with a Daoist text. Written at some time during the Tang Dynasty, ‘Qingjing Jing’ is the most popular Daoist scripture. It refers to the dichotomous nature of the world and humanity, and instructs human beings to seek tranquility through accepting one’s essential nature. The irony is that Peng’s beloved dog Yukie is expressing his essential nature through an act of voracious consumption. As he licks away the last tiny pieces of dog food, he is erasing an exhortation to seek purity through eliminating desire: dualism in action. There is a duality at play between artist and audience as well: we enjoy the amusing suggestion that the dog is the writer, but of course we know that it is in the nature of the dog to be greedily focused on food, and we quickly understand what is really happening. The darker undercurrent running through this series suggests that we can never overcome our worldly desires, our greed, envy and acquisitiveness.
Accession number
2012.070