作品標題：在那遙遠的地方 An Unapproachable Shore
作者：潘娉玉 Ping-Yu Pan
國籍：台灣 Taiwan
材料：竹子、其他現地天然素材、麻繩等 Bamboo, jute rope
作者背景
目前任台北藝術大學美術系講師。曾獲亞洲文化協會以及中美學術交流基金會獎助，美國佛蒙特工作室藝術中心第九屆亞洲藝術家獎學金。曾於美國舊金山赫德蘭藝術中心、舊金山美術館德揚紀念館、紐約市，以及佛蒙特工作室藝術中心等地進行藝術家駐村計劃。並於國內外舉辦多次個展及聯展。其作品以混合媒材的雕塑或裝置作品，探討神話與當代生活之間的關係。在台灣當代藝術中有難能可貴的溫潤質感。
Artist Background
Taiwanese sculptor Pan Ping-Yu lives and works in Taipei; her mixed media sculptures explore the relationship between myth and contemporary life. She has received fellowship awards from the Asian Cultural Council, the Sino-American Asian Cultural Foundation, and the Asian Artist Fellowship from the Freeman Foundation of Vermont Studio Center in 1999 and 2001, to participate in artist-in-residency programs in San Francisco, New York and Vermont in the USA. Ping-yu has exhibited her work in many solo shows and group shows in Taiwan and internationally since 1995. The Taiwan National Culture and Art Foundation sponsored her first solo show in 1996. She graduated from the National Institute of the Arts in Taipei and earned an MFA from Tainan National College of Arts. She is now on the faculty of the Fine Arts Department of the Taipei National University of the Arts.
創作理念
上一個世紀，日新月異的運輸科技縮短了世界的距離；今日，網路與通訊科技推陳出新的應用，使人類地球村的美夢成真。
而諷刺的是，有關「全球」的另一個景象－一則有關北極熊的新聞，卻不斷的在我腦海中浮現。新聞報導說北極熊因為冰山融化的緣故，而在覓食時溺死在海中。北極熊的生存已經因為全球暖化現象，受到嚴重的威脅。
在「全球」之名底下，因為對於「全球」的想像與努力，人與人之間的距離也許縮短了。但這「全球」所帶來的一切，是否真使所有的距離都縮短了呢?個體在面對真實或虛擬環境時，距離發生了微妙的變化，所謂「真實」的距離，變得難以測量，而產生了某種矛盾的現象和模糊不確定的感受。人類在當代生活中，必須去面對這對於距離的複雜關係與感受－某種對於所欲的虛構想像，以為是可觸及的，卻永遠無法真正觸及的狀態；原來是近的變遠了；原來是遠的，卻變近了。作品〈在那遙遠的地方〉就是一件表達在全球現象之下，有關當代生活中「距離」的圖像。
作品〈在那遙遠的地方〉與英文標題稍有出入，英文應直譯為「無法到達的彼岸」（An Unapproachable Shore），「遙遠的地方」自然是難以到達的；中英文表達同一個意義的不同說法。〈在那遙遠的地方〉運用橋的意象，以一座無法作用，無法幫助人到達彼岸的橋，來呈現我對於當代生活中，有關距離的矛盾狀態。這座無法作用的橋，象徵著人類試圖征服自然的野心與挫折，以及試圖的溝通、聯繫不同區域的旅程。
關渡自然公園以人工的方式分為兩個部分，其中一個區域對大眾開放，而另外一個區域是保護區，在這兩個區域之間分布著小溪、池塘與沼澤；實際演譯了一個可觸及與不可觸及的場域。當訪客造訪關渡自然公園，他們必須學習去認同與自然保持距離理念。
基於以上的想法，〈在那遙遠的地方〉以未完成的概念橋，運用自然材質來製作構成。雖然有橋的意像，卻是一座不能使用的橋。
〈在那遙遠的地方〉是一座有關於距離的情感紀念碑。某種在我們生活中所面對的，在現實或虛擬世界中，所意欲觸及的慾望、夢想或幸福。〈在那遙遠的地方〉也是一個質疑，對「全球」幻象的質疑。
Statement
Progress in transportation technology, the Internet and communication technology has shortened distances in the world and made the dream of a “global village” come true. However a contradictory image of “global” has emerged in my mind prompted by some news about polar bears in the North Pole. Ice melting caused by global warming made a polar bear drown since the distance became too great for him to swim to the next ice mass. The image of the “global” that may or may not be real and the tension between reality and virtual reality causes a paradoxical phenomenon in distance. Something seems approachable and unapproachable at the same time. For “An Unapproachable Shore”, I use the image of a bridge to present the different layers of my idea. My bridge is not functional, and it cannot help people go over to the other shore. It acts as a symbol of the human ambition to conquer Nature and the frustration at the impossibility, like a journey of desire to try to communicate with two different worlds. “An Unapproachable Shore” also marks a question about the illusion of global. Guandu Nature Park is divided in two parts; one is open to the public, and the other is for preservation. However, there are short streams, small ponds, and marshes through these areas that literally signify that the former is approachable and the latter is not. When visitors come to this park, they will appreciate the idea of distance and preservation in Nature. The idea of an unfinished bridge will be presented in natural materials, but it is only a bridge to see and not a functioning bridge. “An Unapproachable Shore” also evokes some feelings about distance, the sorts of distance that we deal with in our lives that make us intend to approach dreams, desires, and happiness from reality or virtual reality.
