For the recently opened 49th Venice Biennale, Taiwan's national pavilion made an outstanding presentation and was very well-attended. To their credit, Taiwan's pavilion outshone many others, including the US pavilion, which had a considerably larger budget.
In its presentation, the Taiwan pavilion chose a strategy akin to an artists' showcase or emporium where several artists show their work at the same time. This has the disadvantage of good works being crowded in and being diluted by the presence of so many other works. On the other hand, there is the advantage of being democratic, with different works having only a specific alotted space. Unfortunately, it was the sense of crowding rather than a sense of democracy that predominated at the Taiwan pavilion this year.
The theme of the Taiwan pavilion is Living Cell: Soul of Mankind. According to the pavilion's curator Kao Chien-hui, the Taiwanese artists share the idea of "man -- his life, his image, his spirit and his conceptions of himself."
Taiwan's pavilion is located in the Palazzo delle Prigioni, a former prison within walking distance of the San Marco Plaza. The structure, with its dark crypt-like rooms and ornate chandeliers, sets the tone of introspection and contemplation, which suited some of the exhibits particularly well.
Two works compete furiously for one's attention as soon as visitors enter the prison building. The crowding reduces the dramatic impact of both works.
One of the works, Beyond the Site by Wen-chih Wang, is a cylindrical shelter composed of sweet-smelling wooden planks of Taiwan cypress, sandalwood, camphor and padauk, connected by intertwined vines rather than nails. Viewers are invited to take off their shoes and climb into the work to relax and meditate. The artwork helps one reflect on the healing aspects of nature and would have been more effective in its own room.
Behind Wang's piece is Michael Ming Hong Lin's installation. Lin, who exhibited one of his large floral paintings in the internationally acclaimed Taipei Biennial 2000 and will participate in this year's Istanbul Biennial, has created a huge wall painting (1345 x 735 x 40cm) of a traditional Taiwanese red floral pattern of peonies. The painting enhances the architectural structure by bringing a rosy glow to the gloomy space.
Magnum photographer Chang Chien-Chi exhibits his photo-documentary series The Chain. The large black and white silver gelatin prints show pairs of mental patients from the infamous Lung Fa Tang asylum linked together by metal chains attached to the waist. These photos intelligently installed in a claustrophobic dungeon-like chamber emit a potent emotional charge. The numb and sterile gaze of these people reflects the vast emptiness of our society.
Liu Shih-fen's installation, Deciphering the Genetic Map of Love: Eyeballs of a Lover, speculates on love and desire. One enters a doorway that is flanked by a transparent spiky inflatable border. Inside the darkened space, surgical tables are set in a cross formation. Upon the tables, small domed cylinder lightboxes are linked with a multitude of plastic tubing containing MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) images of the artist's heart juxtaposed with nude photos of herself. In addition, a video loop of animated bodies is projected onto the ceiling along with a sound track of breaking glass.
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