When I was an artist in residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts in California, I used to hike in regions such as Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods, and Angel Island. I would write a journal entry, draw a map of my route, and save the cane I collected from every one of my hikes. Also, I photographed all the images I saw along the way. In very concise words, I jotted down my experiences during hiking. Even though most of it was very objective description, the reader could still see traces of my emotional and psychological state from my writing. And because hiking was so physically consuming, I had to continue to monitor my blood sugar so that my food intake, medication, and physical condition could strike a balance. I remember taking photographs of my own excrement as well as that of wild animals. I collected the excrement and saw myself as a wild animal, from a biological perspective. Upon my return to the art center, I developed the photographs and slides, and I organized my notes and labeled the maps I had drawn. Subsequently, I preserved my canes, photographs, my hiking journal, maps, and specimen in my studio. There were a total of 23 recorded hikes during my stay.
This was the beginning of the establishment of certain principles or a new model behind my work in performance art. This new model influenced many of my later works. It did not need audiences, and went by its own rules, then presented by documents, in trying to express my experience and showcase aesthetics. Even though sometimes I did not even know what exactly the final form of some of my works were, I continued to live and to work, thinking about how to piece together a piece of artwork through many of the elements I have gathered along the way.
During this period, I cozied up to my Asian roots by practicing yoga, meditation, and studying the Taoism, learning from ancient philosophers such as Laozi and Zhuangzi. Hiking Journal was inspired by “The Adjustment of Controversies” by Zhuangzi. I felt we would be exempted from a great deal of conflicts and pain if human beings saw themselves as equals to other living creatures. Therefore, my behaviors and documentation were the interactions between an individual’s body and Mother Nature. Monitoring or balancing my blood sugar, or urinating as a way of labeling, drawing out maps, as well as confirming my location became survival skills for me in the wilderness or in a foreign land.
在美國加州海德蘭藝術中心駐村時，我常在國立金門大橋休閒區（Golden Gate National Recreation Area）、穆爾紅木森林（Muir Wood）、天使島（Angel Island）等地區進行健行。每一次健行都會記下一篇日誌，畫一張路線圖，收集一根手杖，拍下自己經驗到的與路途所看到的景象。我用非常精簡的文字寫下健行的日誌，只描述現象，但從其中仍可以隱隱感覺到個人的情感與精神狀態。由於體能一直在消耗中，我必須持續監控自己的血糖狀態，讓食物、藥物、體能的消耗維持平衡。我還拍照記錄自己及野生動物的大小便，將這些排泄物收集在一起，以生物學的態度，把自己當作一個野生動物看待。返回藝術中心後，沖印照片、幻燈片，整理筆記，標畫路線地圖。然後將手杖、照片、健行日誌、地圖及標本等物體裝置在工作室中。這些留有紀錄的健行共有23次。
這是我以制訂行為規則進行創作的開始。這些不需觀眾、自訂規則行事、事後以文件表達我的經驗與美學企圖的模式，影響了我後來的許多作品。有些時候我甚至不知道作品最後的形式是什麼，我就是這麼生活與工作，然後慢慢思考如何把過程取得的元素做成作品。
在這段期間，我越來越向東方的文化根源靠攏，練習瑜珈、靜坐，研究道家的老莊。莊子〈齊物論〉的觀點就影響到〈健行日記〉這件作品，我覺得如果人類把自己擺在與其他的生物平等的位置，就可以減輕很多衝突與痛苦。我的行為與文件處理的是個人身體與自然環境的關係，而監控或平衡血糖、以尿液在環境中標記、繪製地圖、確定自己所在位置等的作為，事實上都是一種在異鄉野外生存技術的操作。
This was the beginning of the establishment of certain principles or a new model behind my work in performance art. This new model influenced many of my later works. It did not need audiences, and went by its own rules, then presented by documents, in trying to express my experience and showcase aesthetics. Even though sometimes I did not even know what exactly the final form of some of my works were, I continued to live and to work, thinking about how to piece together a piece of artwork through many of the elements I have gathered along the way.
During this period, I cozied up to my Asian roots by practicing yoga, meditation, and studying the Taoism, learning from ancient philosophers such as Laozi and Zhuangzi. Hiking Journal was inspired by “The Adjustment of Controversies” by Zhuangzi. I felt we would be exempted from a great deal of conflicts and pain if human beings saw themselves as equals to other living creatures. Therefore, my behaviors and documentation were the interactions between an individual’s body and Mother Nature. Monitoring or balancing my blood sugar, or urinating as a way of labeling, drawing out maps, as well as confirming my location became survival skills for me in the wilderness or in a foreign land.
在美國加州海德蘭藝術中心駐村時，我常在國立金門大橋休閒區（Golden Gate National Recreation Area）、穆爾紅木森林（Muir Wood）、天使島（Angel Island）等地區進行健行。每一次健行都會記下一篇日誌，畫一張路線圖，收集一根手杖，拍下自己經驗到的與路途所看到的景象。我用非常精簡的文字寫下健行的日誌，只描述現象，但從其中仍可以隱隱感覺到個人的情感與精神狀態。由於體能一直在消耗中，我必須持續監控自己的血糖狀態，讓食物、藥物、體能的消耗維持平衡。我還拍照記錄自己及野生動物的大小便，將這些排泄物收集在一起，以生物學的態度，把自己當作一個野生動物看待。返回藝術中心後，沖印照片、幻燈片，整理筆記，標畫路線地圖。然後將手杖、照片、健行日誌、地圖及標本等物體裝置在工作室中。這些留有紀錄的健行共有23次。
這是我以制訂行為規則進行創作的開始。這些不需觀眾、自訂規則行事、事後以文件表達我的經驗與美學企圖的模式，影響了我後來的許多作品。有些時候我甚至不知道作品最後的形式是什麼，我就是這麼生活與工作，然後慢慢思考如何把過程取得的元素做成作品。
在這段期間，我越來越向東方的文化根源靠攏，練習瑜珈、靜坐，研究道家的老莊。莊子〈齊物論〉的觀點就影響到〈健行日記〉這件作品，我覺得如果人類把自己擺在與其他的生物平等的位置，就可以減輕很多衝突與痛苦。我的行為與文件處理的是個人身體與自然環境的關係，而監控或平衡血糖、以尿液在環境中標記、繪製地圖、確定自己所在位置等的作為，事實上都是一種在異鄉野外生存技術的操作。
