The deep transformation of rebirth
Elevator cables that are taken out of service at Taipei 101 must first undergo various processes like soaking in solvent to remove oil, and then rewashing. Besides carrying out these tasks himself, Kang also works with the minimum-security prison at Bade in Taoyuan, using art to rebuild the inmates’ spirits.
“First I spoke to the prisoners to let them know that cleaning the cables is a meaningful activity, and to share with them the reactions I got during the European shows.” Kang has found 18 prisoners to help him. He himself has to leave home between 6 and 7 a.m. to come to the prison to work with them, and can only leave once everything is finished at night. At first some of the prisoners complained that the soaking and washing process was too demanding, and they only wanted to do the latter stages, which are less strenuous. But because of the actions used in the cleaning process, the job has to done by the same person from beginning to end for the cable to be really clean. Kang’s exhortations helped them understand that through the work of their hands, these discarded cables will later be transformed into works of art that will be exhibited all over the world. Thus one after another they have volunteered to take part in this cleaning process.
One young prisoner in his twenties, having washed a cable halfway, was told that his mother had come to visit. Half an hour later, Kang Muxiang asked him how the visit had gone. The young man said that his mother had noticed how dirty he was, and asked what he had been doing, to which he replied that he was making art. “There’s a master artist here who makes art from steel cables,” he told her. “We are just now washing the cables, and later they will be used to create something that will go to be exhibited.” This was a new topic for dialogue between this prisoner and his family, and Kang sensed that from then on there was a subtle change in the relationship between parent and child.
“Through this chance opportunity I got to hear a speech by Master Kang in which he took his realizations about life and transformed them into a spiritual baptism, saying that only if you can transcend your own psychological barriers can you find rebirth.” “After the Master began to speak, I was hugely surprised by what he said. It turns out that the art of sculpture is closely related to our challenges in life, and the Master used the subject of rebirth to give me a life lesson that I will never forget.” The prisoners’ words reveal how Kang has shone a light into their hearts, filling this steel cable with the meaning of “rebirth.”
Through the patience and perseverance needed for cleaning the cables, and their expectations toward future art exhibitions, the lives of imprisoned men become settled, helping them turn over a new leaf.