Zealandia+Memorandum+-+Yang+Mao-Lin

[[image:o0249.jpg width="650" height="400" align="right" caption="Taipei Fine Arts Museum" link="http://www.tfam.museum/07_Collections/Default.aspx?PKID=689"]]

 * ===Artwork Identification===
 * Title: Zealandia Memorandum
 * Artist(s): Yang Mao-Lin
 * Date: 1993
 * Period: Unknown
 * Country of Origin: Taiwan
 * Cultural/Ethnic Affiliation: Taiwanese
 * Medium: Oil, Acrylic on Canvas
 * Dimensions: 112.5 x 194 cm
 * Museum/Collection: Taipei Fine Arts Museum
 * Accession Number: L9301
 * Current Location and Manner of Display: Taipei, Taiwan
 * Provenance: Unknown ||

** Introduction **
[|Yang Mao-Lin] created a series entitled //Zealandia Memorandum// to illustrate the history of the colonization of [|Taiwan]. This diptych is currently housed at the [|Taipei Fine Arts Museum] and separate from the rest of the series. The amalgamation of these opposing figures illustrates the lasting impression that the attempted colonization by the Dutch had on the island and the pride of overcoming such an endeavor.


 * Descriptive Analysis **

Each side of the diptych includes a figures surrounded supporting imagery. The figure on the left is[| Cornelis Reyersen], the Dutch commander that intended to settle on the west coast of Taiwan in 1624. (Tsai, p. 28, 2009) Commander Reyersen is portrayed as a drawing in black ink with the yellow background showing through. He has many western features that define his identity; his hair is long a curly that the yellow background of the canvas makes look blond, he has round eyes and a long nose, and a thin and slightly curled mustache. He is dressed in western style clothes that were common during the 17th century illustrated by his over sized collar. The portrait is surround by small images that relate to the story. Fort Zeelandia is located in the bottom left with the Dutch flag rising from the center of the fort. Above[| Fort Zeelandia] is found an image of Commander Reyersen's ship called "Zeelandia"(Chiu, p.21, 2009) painted all red with a few sails open as though it is docked. The bit of green at the top of the canvas is the coast of the Netherlands. Four small houses are found at the bottom right of the figure. The symbol at the bottom of this image, [|VOC], stands for "Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie" or "The United Dutch East India Company."(Chiu, p.3, 208) All of these attribute to Cornelis Reyersen and help to solidify his identity.The entire image is surrounded by a red border. The figure on the right side of the diptych is a portrait of [|Zheng Cheng-Gong]. He is painted in vivid colors instead of the black drawing as seen in the portrait of Cornelis Reyersen. He wears a hat and clothes that were common in China during the 17th century. The robe wrapped around his body has abstract shapes in shades of purple that ends in a small green collar around his neck. His had is simple, but clearly identifiable and painted black with simple linear design in orange. His facial feature reflect those of Chinese origin with facial hair that was also common during the time. Behind Zheng Cheng-Gong is an image of the island of Taiwan painted green with a band of blue surrounding the island. An overall background is painted with swirling back and gray areas. The entire image is surrounded by an orange border. Below each portrait is a bright green insignia that says "Made in Taiwan" and connects each portrait image to its border.


 * Formal and Contextual Analysis **

In 1622, Cornelis Reyersen sailed to Macao in South East China to establish a trading relationship with China, but was pushed out by its Portuguese settlers. After his defeat, Commander Reyersen sailed the Zeelandia ship to a small island called [|Tayouan] located between mainland China and Taiwan, presently called [|Tainan], where he established Fort Zeelandia named after his ship. (Betts, p. 53, 1985) Dutch presents made Taiwan a very important trading post for the Dutch East India Company. (Chiu, p.3-4, 2008) The Dutch East India Company was known by it's symbol "VOC" which stands for Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie in Dutch. The small buildings seen in the image of Cornelis Reyersen symbolize the outlaw by the Dutch of the use of bamboo to build homes. Instead, they insisted that homes and other buildings be build by brick, stone or other sustainable materials. The city plan of Zeelandia as well as the structures were developed based on the ideas of Italian Renaissance engineers and architects. (Betts, p. 55, 1985)

Zheng Cheng-Gong, also known as Cheng Ch'eng-kung and Koxinga by the Europeans, took over Fort Zeelandia in 1662 and renamed it [|An-p'ing]. He was a Ming loyalist who began the two hundred year of Chinese hold on the island. (Rubinstein, p. 13, 2007) Zheng Cheng-Gong intended to get the land back to the natural landscape of the island rather than maintaining Reyersen's desire to westernize the city planning and building. On his arrival, Zheng Cheng-Gong and his army of 25,000 soldiers were welcomed with excitement by the Chinese settlers of the island. (Manthorpe, p. 65, 2009)

Yang Mao-Lin's //Zealandia Memorandum// series stems from another series entitled, //Yuangshan Memorandum// and explores the disappearance of Taiwan's [|aboriginal culture]. The //Zealandia Memorandum// series is more focused on the Dutch expansion in Taiwan. (Pan, A Moving Memory) The //[|Made in Taiwan]// symbol refers to Yang Mao-Lin's //Made in Taiwan// series based on images that reflect Taiwan's culture, history, and politics. In this series Yang used Japanese cartoons and Hollywood characteristics for his figures to symbolize the lack of Taiwanese culture in modern day Taiwan. The //Made in Taiwan// sticker like symbol is reminiscent of various western items that are coming out of Taiwan. (Sue-feng, 2008)


 * Personal Interpretation **

The long history of Taiwan is what fascinates me the most and to have art such as this to reflect on important times in history solidifies the facts in a way that probably everyone can relate to and appreciate. What attracted me the most was the juxtaposition of such differing figures and their cultural attributes. Commander Reyersen is surrounded with so many different images while Cheng is so austere and simply composed with very little in his peripheral. To me this tells me that while the Dutch were succeeding with their modern technologies and ideas, the Chinese had numbers and intelligent tactics. As it mentioned in the Taiwan Panorama article, the //Made in Taiwan// insignia included in the image reflects and reminds the viewers of the question, "Where is Taiwan's Culture?" But in //Zealandia Memorandum//, it makes me wonder if the combination of the Yang's two series is going further to say that the imagery is what Taiwan //was// and the insignia refers to what Taiwan is //now// known for or what is has become.

References


 * Chiu, Hsin-hui. //The Colonial 'Civilizing Process' in Dutch Formosa, 1624-1622.// Koninklijke Brill: Leiden, The Netherlands, 2008.
 * Tsai, Shih-Shan Henry. //Maritime Taiwan: Historical Encounters with the East and the West.// M.E. Sharpe, Inc.: Armonk, New York, 2009.
 * Sue-feng, Teng. //Seeing the Immortals--The World of Sculptor Yang Mao-lin.//  Taiwan Panorama, 2008.
 * Manthorpe, Jonathan. //Forbidden Nation: A History of Taiwan//. St. Martin's Press LLC: New York, 2009.
 * Betts, Raymond F. //Colonial Cities: Essays on Urbanism in Colonial Context.// Dordrecht, Netherlands: 1985.
 * Rubinstein, Murray A. //Taiwan: A New History.// M.E. Sharp, Inc.: Armonk, New York, 2007
 * Pan, An-Yi. //A Moving Memory: A Special Exhibition of Contemporary Taiwanese Art//. 