Ting-Jung Chen: Here on the Edge of the Sea We Sit

Does power whisper? How are territories communicated? Is there a sensory vision of collective identity?

In her first solo exhibition in Germany, Taiwanese artist Ting-Jung Chen explores these profound questions, crafting a scenario both conceptual and immersive. The exhibition resonates with the echoes of public political speeches as well as public monuments, offering a critical perspective on how narratives, power, and identity are not only constructed but also expressed and contested within public and private spheres. Chen’s multi-layered installation explores the interplay between sound and the sensory emotions it evokes, paying attention to how power structures exploit these elements to consolidate control.

Chen questions the systems and stories that define our shared histories. Her work critically examines the “ideal” narratives and imagery often embedded in political rhetoric and memorial sites. These idealized forms, generalized and abstracted, are propagated by those in power and designed to influence the perception and transmission of communicated information, ultimately shaping collective identity and national consciousness.

A cryptic dialogue emerges in the exhibition space, recalling vague signals from the past and intensifying the tension between the physical presence of the largescale, buoy-like sculptures and the intangible, shifting sounds that surround them. Sound and events undergo multiple translations and are transformed into extended, plural narratives, thus opening up multiple time layers and envisaging alternative forms of bodily empowerment as well as the various ways in which boundaries are defined.

A sound art exhibition within the framework of MaerzMusik 2025, Berlin.

Ting-Jung Chen is a 2024/25 Music & Sound Fellow of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program. The exhibition at daadgalerie was developed during Chen's residency in Berlin and is curated by Sebastian Dürer and Natalie Keppler.

The DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program is funded by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany and the Berlin Senate.

Ting-Jung Chen and the project were kindly supported by the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan, the Taipei Representation in the Federal Republic of Germany and the National Culture and Arts Foundation, Taiwan.

Events
Exhibition opening: March 20, 6–9pm
Artist talk with Ting-Jung Chen & Salomé Voegelin: March 23, 3–4:30pm
Performance with Rabih Beaini & Yi-Wei Tien: May 3, 6–7pm, during Gallery Weekend Berlin
Performance with Rabih Beaini & Yi-Wei Tien: May 4, 2–3pm, during Gallery Weekend Berlin