Did You Know That … ?
- Chiu started out as an ambitious cartoonist who wanted to create comics that reflect the lives of regular people in Taiwan. An eight-page comic on a self-sacrificing mouse and another series on talking dogs, however, ran amok of censorship and he decided to give up drawing comics despite two decades of work in the field.
- Pavers working with asphalt drew Chiu's attention when he went out for a stroll one day, and he collaborated with researcher Kuo Tsung-tien to find a way to transform the road-building material to an artistic medium. The key turned out to be hot glue, rather like how glue is used as an adhesive in eastern gouache.
- The unbridled quality of asphalt, combined with its three-dimensional appearance, has led Chiu to create visages that are as light as the wing of a cicada and as heavy as rolling storm clouds.
Read more about the artist here or scroll down for pictures.
![13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-3.jpg 13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-3.jpg](https://file.moc.gov.tw/001/Upload/OldFiles/AdminUploads/content/large/ef39b40f-5c56-401c-8148-d14969e992a2.jpg)
One of the reoccurring themes in Chiu’s pieces is Bodhidharma (達摩), who is credited as the transmitter of Zen.
![13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-9.jpg 13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-9.jpg](https://file.moc.gov.tw/001/Upload/OldFiles/AdminUploads/content/large/518494ce-b8c8-4a42-86c5-2415d980d2c3.jpg)
Using the same subject to chart his progress, Chiu practices different techniques for depicting Bodhidharma, whether it's a sheet of asphalt for beard, or threads for eyebrows.
![13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-4.jpg 13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-4.jpg](https://file.moc.gov.tw/001/Upload/OldFiles/AdminUploads/content/large/f7aa4a2f-8396-4784-bb8b-2e288d0be813.jpg)
Social or political satire is another lasting theme in Chiu’s works, be it a comic piece or large asphalt paintings. One of his popular paintings shows a group of frog-looking figures snatching at New Taiwan Dollar bills.
![13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-6.jpg 13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-6.jpg](https://file.moc.gov.tw/001/Upload/OldFiles/AdminUploads/content/large/d5545c09-0641-40c1-926f-29668f85935e.jpg)
Noting how for thousands of years paintings have been limited inside a frame, Chiu purposefully paints over the picture frame. For example, in one painting the frog-like figures latch onto the frame with their hands and feet.
![13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-10.jpg 13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-10.jpg](https://file.moc.gov.tw/001/Upload/OldFiles/AdminUploads/content/large/61817069-7f95-4e26-9dd7-833863a56103.jpg)
Asphalt can be layered so that up to ten layers could still be distinguished clearly, unlike Chinese ink, oil paints, or other materials of the same color and saturation.
![13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-7.jpg 13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-7.jpg](https://file.moc.gov.tw/001/Upload/OldFiles/AdminUploads/content/large/84cd2712-d424-4bf7-8888-01cd0ee857ca.jpg)
By removing the usual boundaries of visual art, Chiu maximizes the potential of asphalt as an art medium, especially its fluidity and its thickness.
![13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-5.jpg 13 - Chiu Hsi-hsun 邱錫勳-5.jpg](https://file.moc.gov.tw/001/Upload/OldFiles/AdminUploads/content/large/2bb5abc3-4eda-441b-a7c3-f9b64a6481da.jpg)