Kneaded eraser used to erase the Sacrifice Tree, mixed with pencil remains
揉入鉛筆遺骸之軟橡皮（用於擦拭犧牲樹）
The process of "Becoming" and "Abiding" of The Sacrifice Tree
〈犧牲樹 正傳〉：成、住的過程
The process of "Becoming" and "Abiding" of The Sacrifice Tree
〈犧牲樹 正傳〉：成、住的過程
The process of "Becoming" and "Abiding" of The Sacrifice Tree
〈犧牲樹 正傳〉：成、住的過程
The process of "Decaying" and "Emptiness" of The Sacrifice Tree
〈犧牲樹 正傳〉：壞、空的過程
The process of "Decaying" and "Emptiness" of The Sacrifice Tree
〈犧牲樹 正傳〉：壞、空的過程
Document (English version)
文件（英文版）
Installation view, “Two Trees and A Mountain,” TKG+, Taipei, Taiwan, 2017
展場實錄：「兩樹一山 — 石晉華個展」
Installation view, “Two Trees and A Mountain,” TKG+, Taipei, Taiwan, 2017
展場實錄：「兩樹一山 — 石晉華個展」
Installation view, “Two Trees and A Mountain,” TKG+, Taipei, Taiwan, 2017
展場實錄：「兩樹一山 — 石晉華個展」
Shi Jin-Hua
Kneaded eraser: 1 11/16 in. diam. (Ø 4.3 cm)
Video: 3:02 min.
Document: 16 9/16 × 11 11/16 in. (42 × 29.7 cm)
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The Sacrifice Tree series originates from Shi Jin-Hua’s encounter with Andrei Tarkovsky’s film The Sacrifice in 1987, particularly the parable of a little monk who waters a barren tree every day until it comes back to life. This story of repetition, belief, and ritual remained with the artist for years. In 1993, while in residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts in California, the memory resurfaced during an exhausting hike, prompting him to recall and resonate with the young monk and to draw strength from the act of persistence. From that moment on, the story was transformed into a guiding principle for both his personal life and artistic practice.
In The Sacrifice Tree, the creative process is documented through a sequence of photographs, later edited into a video. Working on a large sheet of Korean mulberry paper (86.3 × 150 cm), Shi repeatedly "walks" the pencil to draw the barren tree from Tarkovsky’s film The Sacrifice. Upon completion, he methodically erases the entire image using a new white rubber eraser, returning the surface to near-blankness. The pencil shavings and remaining pencil ends are then ground and kneaded together with the eraser into a single spherical form, which is preserved inside an acrylic box, marking the end of the action.
Here, drawing, erasure, and preservation are not means of image-making, but a ritualized act of sacrifice. The tree may or may not return to life; but the action itself—repeated, consumed, and completed—becomes a ritual of persistent faith.
(Text adapted from the 2013 monograph. [Read full statement here])
「犧牲樹」系列源自石晉華於 1987 年觀看安德烈・塔可夫斯基電影《犧牲》時，片中關於「每日澆灌荒樹，直到它復活」的故事。這則關於重複、信念與儀式的寓言長久留存在他的記憶之中。1993年駐村於美國加州海德蘭藝術中心期間，在一次艱苦的登山途中，這段故事再次浮現，使他將自身投射為那位每日上山澆樹的小修士，並由此獲得持續前行的力量。自此，他開始認養並實踐這個故事，將其轉化為生活與創作的準則。
〈犧牲樹 正傳〉的創作過程以連續拍攝的方式加以記錄，並剪接成影片。藝術家在一張 86.3 × 150 公分的韓國壯紙前，以鉛筆反覆走筆，逐步描繪出安德烈・塔可夫斯基電影《犧牲》中的荒樹形象。完成後，他以全新的白色軟橡皮，耐心地將畫面上的筆觸逐一擦除，直至紙面回復近乎空白。隨後，所有鉛筆屑與鉛筆尾端被研磨、揉捏，與橡皮結合成一顆球狀物，並置於壓克力盒中保存，行為至此結束。
在此作品中，繪畫、抹除與保存並非為了留下圖像，而是一個關於犧牲、重複與信念的行動。樹未必重生，但行為本身，成為一種持續抵達的儀式。
（本文編整自 2013 年石晉華作品集。閱讀全文）
Exhibitions
2023 Art Scope: Folded Sides of Our Visual Pathways, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
2022 A Drop of Water from Caoxi: Shi Jin-Hua—2022 Buddha’s Birthday Exhibition, Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
2021 The Rocks Return to Soil Where the Heart Belongs, Taitung Art Museum, Taitung, Taiwan2017 Two Trees and A Mountain, TKG+, Taipei, Taiwan
2017 LINES—Shi Jin-Hua’s Contemporary Religious Art, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
2023「透景線：實境的疊隱與擴張」，高雄市立美術館，高雄，臺灣
2022「曹溪一滴 • 石晉華 — 慶祝 2022 國定佛誕節特展」佛光緣美術館 總館，高雄，臺灣
2021 「石落心田 終歸大地 — 石晉華個展」，臺東美術館，臺灣2017 「兩樹一山 — 石晉華個展」TKG+，臺北，臺灣
2017 「線—石晉華當代宗教藝術展」，陳宏星策展，高雄市立美術館，高雄，臺灣
Publications
2018 LINES—Shi Jin-Hua’s Contemporary Religious Art. Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.2018《線 — 石晉華當代宗教藝術展》，高雄市立美術館，臺灣