Chen Bo-wei (
Apart from these projects, Chen is also a stylist for singers as well as a set and costume designer for many theater companies. He has worked for Performance Workshop (
Now, the multidisciplinary artist has taken over Off Performance Workshop (
PHOTO: VICO LEE, TAIPEI TIMES
Like a theater version of photo features in fashion magazines, The Cruel Flower presents seemingly unconnected scenes from a simple fantasy story.
May, a graduate student, lives an ordinary life, neither happy nor unhappy, until her mother falls ill. May's worries take her to the edge of madness. From the Internet, she learns about a plant that could cure her mother. She decides to search for the plant.
She climbs up a mountain and enters a forest. It turns out to be a forest of her imagination. Her daydreams have taken the forms of trees and animals. Among the distracting images, she sees the flowers she's looking for.
"The beauty of `asymmetry' and `raggedness' are the main ideas applied to the new dresses," said Chen, costume designer and playwright. "Visually, the whole set presents a strong sense of eccentricity, while intensity and humor are compatibly merged, like the mixture of sorrow and happiness in life."
If this fashion statement eludes you, just enjoy the eye-pleasing mix-and-match of The Eyeball Loves The Globe's iron-wired floral hats, handmade eyeball dolls and ripped white dresses. There is also the Afro-hair-do by ID Salon, violet eye-liners by MAC and all kinds of Shoex shoes, the brands all being co-sponsors of the show.
Souvenir Photos, a photography series by Mr. Eyeball is now on show at FNAC Future Center branch until April 7 and may shed some light on the off-beatness of Chen's look.
The Cruel Flower will be performed at 7:30pm and 9pm tonight and tomorrow at the Silian Building, Huashan Arts District (
Tickets are NT$450 and available at Era ticketing outlets or by contacting Off Performance Workshop at (02) 26982323.
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