《食＋堯手記》
在持續探討家庭、記憶與文化認同的創作脈絡中，我逐漸發現，除了物件與空間之外，飲食同樣是構成「家」的重要元素。
相較於《我家的「見證物」》對日常器物的關注，以及《家庭風景》對家庭空間與生活景觀的觀察，《食＋堯手記》將視角轉向飲食文化，嘗試從味覺經驗重新閱讀個人的成長記憶。
成長於多元族群共存的馬來西亞，不同文化背景的人們透過食物交流，也透過食物傳承各自的歷史與生活方式。童年記憶中的點心，不只是填飽肚子的食物，更是一種文化經驗的累積。它們承載著節慶、習俗、家族關係與族群認同，也記錄著不同文化之間相互接觸與融合的過程。
因此，本作品並非單純描繪食物本身，而是試圖透過食物作為觀看文化的入口。那些看似平凡的糕點、甜品與傳統小吃，實際上蘊藏著一個族群長時間累積而成的生活智慧與文化價值。透過版畫與藝術家的書形式重新整理這些飲食記憶，食物不再只是被食用的對象，而成為閱讀文化與理解自我的媒介。
當作品進一步將臺灣與馬來西亞的傳統飲食經驗相互對照時，也逐漸發現，無論地域如何差異，許多飲食文化背後都存在著相似的情感結構與文化精神。食物不僅連結土地與歷史，也連結人與人之間共同的生活經驗。
《食＋堯手記》因此是一部關於味覺記憶的手記，也是一段從個人成長經驗出發，重新思考文化傳承與跨地域認同的旅程。透過翻閱、觀看與閱讀，觀者所接觸的不只是食物的形象，更是一種關於家、記憶與文化的敘事。
作為一件藝術家的書（Artist's Book），《食＋堯手記》除了透過版畫圖像探討飲食文化與成長記憶之外，亦透過書籍的形式延伸作品的閱讀層次。藝術家嘗試以近似食譜的方式建構作品內容，將創作過程中的材料、工具、程序與情緒狀態轉化為可閱讀的資訊，使原本存在於創作過程中的理性思考與感性經驗得以並置呈現。
作品名稱來自藝術家姓氏「饒」字的拆解與轉化。透過解構文字的方式，將「饒」轉化為「食」與「堯」兩個元素，使名稱本身成為一種文化與個人身份的再詮釋。由於作品內容圍繞著食物、記憶與文化經驗展開，因此最終選擇以《食＋堯手記》作為作品名稱，使其同時保有個人指涉與飲食文化的象徵意涵。
本作品由十二件版畫作品與封頁組成，並以書腰集結成冊。內容收錄藝術家童年時期於僑居地所接觸的各式傳統點心與飲食記憶。由於成長於多元族群共存的社會環境，使藝術家得以接觸來自不同文化背景的飲食傳統。這些點心不僅在口感、色彩、造型與製作方式上各具特色，其背後更蘊含著節慶禮俗、生活智慧與族群文化的歷史脈絡。
透過對臺灣與馬來西亞傳統飲食文化的觀察與比較，作品逐漸發現，儘管地域、語言與文化背景各有差異，但許多飲食背後所承載的情感與價值卻具有高度共通性。這些流傳於民間的食物，不只是地方文化的縮影，更是世代傳承的重要媒介。
《食＋堯手記》試圖透過藝術家的書形式，將個人的飲食記憶轉化為文化閱讀的經驗，使觀者在翻閱作品的過程中，不僅閱讀食物，也閱讀一段關於家庭、文化與身份認同的生命故事。
Vade Mecum of YOW
Throughout my artistic practice, I have continuously explored the interconnected themes of home, memory, and cultural identity. Over time, I came to realize that, beyond objects and spaces, food is equally essential in shaping our understanding of home.
While The Witnesses of Yow Family examined the significance of everyday domestic objects, and Family Scenery focused on the spaces and landscapes that define family life, Vade Mecum of YOW turns its attention toward food culture. Through the lens of taste and culinary memory, the work revisits personal experiences of growing up and reflects upon the cultural narratives embedded within them.
Raised in multicultural Malaysia, I was surrounded by communities of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Food served not only as a means of nourishment, but also as a medium through which histories, traditions, and ways of life were communicated and preserved. The snacks and delicacies remembered from childhood were never merely things to be eaten; they were repositories of memory, carrying traces of festivals, customs, family relationships, and cultural identities. They also reveal the ways in which different communities encountered, influenced, and coexisted with one another.
Rather than representing food as a subject in itself, this project approaches food as an entry point into culture. Seemingly ordinary pastries, desserts, and traditional snacks embody generations of accumulated knowledge, values, and collective experience. Through printmaking and the format of an artist’s book, these culinary memories are revisited and reorganized, transforming food from an object of consumption into a medium for cultural reflection and self-understanding.
As the work gradually draws connections between traditional foods from Taiwan and Malaysia, it reveals striking similarities beneath their regional differences. Despite variations in geography, language, and custom, many food traditions are rooted in comparable emotional structures and cultural values. Food not only connects people to places and histories, but also serves as a common language through which shared human experiences are expressed and remembered.
Vade Mecum of YOW is therefore both a notebook of taste memories and a journey of cultural reflection. Through the acts of viewing, reading, and turning its pages, audiences encounter not only images of food, but also narratives of home, memory, cultural inheritance, and belonging.
As an artist’s book, Vade Mecum of YOW extends beyond the visual representation of food and memory by incorporating the book itself as an integral part of the work. Adopting a structure inspired by recipe books, the project transforms the materials, tools, procedures, and emotional states involved in the artist’s creative process into a readable system of information. In doing so, rational decisions and intuitive experiences coexist within the same framework, revealing the often-unseen processes behind artistic production.
The title derives from the artist’s family name, Yow. Through the deconstruction and reinterpretation of language, the name becomes a site of personal and cultural association. As the work revolves around food, memory, and cultural experience, the title functions not only as a reference to personal identity, but also as a symbolic framework through which the project’s broader themes are articulated.
The book consists of twelve woodcut prints and a cover page assembled into a handcrafted volume. The images draw upon traditional snacks and culinary memories from the artist’s childhood in Malaysia. Growing up within a multicultural society provided opportunities to encounter foods from various ethnic communities, each carrying distinctive histories, customs, and cultural meanings. These foods are remembered not only for their flavors, colors, textures, and forms, but also for the stories and values embedded within them.
Through an exploration of traditional food cultures in both Taiwan and Malaysia, the work gradually reveals how culinary traditions transcend geographical boundaries. Despite differences in cultural background and local practice, many foods embody shared values concerning family, celebration, memory, and community. These culinary traditions are not simply regional specialties; they are living vessels of cultural inheritance passed down across generations.
By bringing together personal recollection, printmaking, and the format of an artist’s book, Vade Mecum of YOW transforms individual food memories into a broader cultural experience. It invites viewers to read not only images of food, but also a story about family, cultural heritage, and the ongoing search for identity.
