Mr Eyeball looks for some more attention

A designer of kitsch costumes for several of Taiwan's leading theater troupes, an artist, a musician and more recently a cult clothing manufacturer, Chen Bo-wei (陳柏維) will be putting on a colorful show this weekend when he exhibits his many talents at the Red House Theater (紅樓劇場) tonight and tomorrow.

Entitled Don't Forget the People in the Shadows (勿忘影中), the Eyeball Loves Globe (眼球愛地球) designer label show/exhibition will feature a mini-stage play that tells of an alien photographer trapped on Earth who finds himself unable to take pictures and pines for a beautiful, yet mysterious stranger. There will also be an exhibition featuring artwork by Chen's alter-ego, "Mr. Eyeball" and a gig, which will see Chen crooning his way through a set of comedic Japanese enka and Taiwanese nakashi-styled tunes -- some of which appeared on last year's EP Banana Flower (香蕉花).

While Chen's kitsch creations have enabled him to build a large cult following in Taiwan, the giant eyeball concept is far from new. Chen's antics and masquerades are, in fact, all pretty much akin to the type of offbeat musical and melodramatic shenanigans of the late 1960s combo, The Residents -- a four piece avant-garde jazz/classical band that pioneered early electronica and whose members wore giant eyeball masks.

Copycat behavior aside, Chen and Mr. Eyeball have been busy and have seen an awful lot of play both at home and abroad over the past couple of years.

Chen's outlandish costumes have been used by experimental theater groups including the Golden Bough Theater group (金枝演社), as well as by popular mainstream troupes such as the Performance Workshop (表演工作坊). They have also appeared on TV in China and Singapore.

His kitsch and overboard designs include heavily starched and colorful faux-1970s clothing, grandiose ball gowns adorned with rubber casts of women's breasts, red latex superhero garb and some truly over-the-top head wear.

Under the guise of Mr. Eyeball, Chen's paintings and sculptures have adorned the walls of pubs and private galleries around Taipei and been featured in dozens of exhibitions nationwide.

Shunning commercialism until last year, Chen caved into popular demand and released the Mr. Eyeball range of fashion and accessory goods. Selling everything from patches to baseball caps, T-shirts, shopping bags, bracelets and necklaces -- all adorned with his Eyeball logo -- Chen's environmentally friendly Mr. Eyeball products have proven hugely popular since hitting the market mid-way through last year.

If you want to mingle with Eyeball fanatics, view satirically outlandish artwork, ogle at some over-the-top costumes, laugh at an unfortunate alien or simply fancy getting an earful of Mr. Eyeball's more musical side, then the Red House Theater is the place to be seen this weekend. Performance notes:

Who: Chen Bo-wei and hisEyeball Loves The Globe.

Where: The Red House Theater, 10 Chengde Rd, Taipei (¥x¥_¥«¦¨³£¸ô10¸¹).

When: Tonight and tomorrow evening at 8pm and tomorrow afternoon at 3pm. The venue is located at 10 Chengde Rd, Taipei (¥x¥_¥«¦¨³£¸ô10¸¹).

Cost: NT$500, available at the door.