Visiting UK artist Daniel Saul arrived in Taiwan just over two weeks ago full of ideas about what the country would be like and even what kind of art he might produce as a result of his visit.
"I came with all these stereotype ideas, but quickly put all those aside," he said. "Superficially, I thought, Taipei looked a bit like New York and I felt at home, but then there is this enormous amount of culture to delve into."
"I went to the holding hands event [the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally last weekend] and it made quite an impression. I asked one elderly lady [through an interpreter] why 228 was important. She said she was born on February 28, but lost her father during the 228 Incident. That was why she never celebrated her birthday."
Saul is one of three British artists staying at the Taipei Artist Village as part of a British Council Taipei and National Endowment for Culture and the Arts initiative, which is intended to "build lasting relationships between the UK and Taiwan by connecting people with learning opportunities and creative ideas," according to its organizers.
Saul, a digital artist, is joined by Jeroen Speak (music) and Andrea Constantinou (dance). In the opposite direction, digital artist Hsu Su-chen (許淑真) has gone to Huddersfield, musician Chen Yong (陳揚) is in Gateshead and dancer Yao Shu-fen (姚淑芬) has taken up a residency in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
The three-month exchange
program is designed to stimulate the artists' creativity and raise awareness of contemporary British and Taiwanese art.
Some of Saul's work is already being showcased. His digital animation Nuclear Train has been installed at Taiwan National University's new gallery space.
It takes as its starting point the three trains that rumble through London in the early morning carrying nuclear waste. "They are trains that you can feel, but can't see. It's a 10-minute long story, with the train as a starting point. But it also involves a family, a father and his disabled daughter. He becomes obsessed with the train and it becomes a symbol of everything that's wrong with his life," Saul said.
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