Kalos Gallery in Taipei will have two exhibitions running side by side tomorrow, both of which explore the relationship between art and writing, fact and fiction. Childhood (童年), an exhibition by Chen Che-wei (陳哲偉), tells a tumultuous story of an imaginary family from a different era through a series of fake photo albums, heirlooms and other objects. The effect is haunting as the images appear to be genuine. On the other hand, Liu Feng-ling (劉鳳鴒) examines the ideas of linearity and subtexts in Penetrate (滲). She does this through using the text from letters her father wrote and books she read while growing up. Liu creates sort of a diary through knitting words on napkins, giving it a rather homely feel. But the chronology is jumbled up and her impressions of what took place in the past are also interfused with the rest of the text. Writing and photography are often thought to be an accurate means of recording the past, but as both artists demonstrate, the process is not as straightforward as it seems.
■ Kalos Gallery (真善美畫廊), 269, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段269號), tel: (02) 2836-3452. Open daily from 10am to 6:30pm
■ Both exhibitions open tomorrow and are until Aug. 15
Photo courtesy of A Gallery
Exhibitions at quirky hipster cafes seems to be the rage this summer. Cafe Vergissmeinnicht recently had one, as did Lili Gallery Bar & Restaurant. And now, P Cafe in New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水) is currently hosting Meditation (默思), a solo exhibition by Ji Lun-qi (紀倫棋). Consisting of a series of black-and-white photographs where the subject is usually a person doing something odd and bizarre — hammering nails into their palms or being strung from their heads from clothes hangers — Ji intends to make his viewers think hard since part of the fun is figuring out what the heck is going on. Nowadays, anyone with a smartphone and Instagram can be a so-called photographer — just snap a picture, choose a pretty filter and upload. In reality, a real photographer must not only grasp the technicalities like lens and angles, but more importantly, know how to tell a story.
■ P Cafe, 2F, 180, Zhongzheng Rd, New Taipei City (新北市中正路180號2樓), tel: (02) 2626-3866. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 9pm
■ Until Aug. 21
Photo courtesy of Kalos Gallery
The loneliness of big city life is an oft-explored theme in modern art — so much so that it’s become quite trite. However, Chang Yi-sheng (張益昇) takes a refreshingly abstract approach to the theme, his textured clouds of golden-grayish hues creating an effect that is at once intoxicating as well as stifling. The gold ink in his paintings, while lustrous, also has a feeling of dignified calmness, as if Chang were trying to carve out a space of solitude amid the black-and-gray smog-like movements. People who live in big cities move there for a reason, usually to fulfill a dream like bettering your career. Chang’s message is not so much that dreams are easily crushed — rather, it’s more that case that you need to figure out a way to stand out from the crowd. Only then will it be easier to realize whatever lofty goals you have. Chang’s paintings are currently on display at Taipei’s A Gallery in an exhibition entitled The Bustling Dream (繁華攏是夢).
■ A Gallery (當代一畫廊), 22, Alley 36, Lane 147, Xinyi Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市信義路三段147巷36弄22號), tel: (02) 2702-3327. Open Mondays to Saturdays from 10am to 6pm
■ Until Aug. 22
Photo courtesy of 1839 Contemporary Gallery
Outspoken artists James T Hong (洪子健) and Chen Yin-ju (陳瀅如), both of whose videos often serve the purpose of functioning as social critique, are collaborating yet again on another mind-prickling project. Held at The Cube Project Space, The Starry Heavens Above and the Moral Law Within (上則星辰,內則德律) explores our relationship with drugs from ancient times to the present day. Utilizing historical documents, paintings and videos, the exhibition starts with the pre-modern era where psychotropic plants were used in religious ceremonies. It then covers the Opium Wars in the mid-1800s, a time when drugs came to be industrially produced rather than plucked from nature. The exhibition touches on drug trafficking and abuse, as is the counter idea that doing drugs is actually a way to express one’s freedom and rebel against the state. Who knew that so much could be learned about the evolution of societies and cultures through analyzing the ways that people throughout time got high?
■ The Cube Project Space (立方計畫空間), 2F, 13, Alley 1, Ln 136, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段136巷1弄13號2樓), tel: (02) 2368-9418. Open Wednesday to Sunday from 2pm to 8pm
■ Until Oct. 4
Photo courtesy of 1839 Contemporary Gallery
Flowers are a popular motif among artists. But rather than accentuating their vibrant and lively colors, American photographer Cy DeCosse chooses to shoot in black and white. Utilizing platinum printing — an old method of monochrome printing from the 19th century that produces a wide tonal range — the details of each flower are eerily visible, from the curvature of a petal to the prick on a cactus. Like most photographers who today shoot in black and white, DeCosse’s choice is not coincidental. Although they are beautiful, flowers have a short life span, and the darkness in DeCosse’s photographs seems to symbolize the idea of imminent death. Flowers also bloom at night – when people are sleeping — so their true beauty is, for the most part hidden from us. DeCosse’s prints are on display at Taipei’s 1839 Contemporary Gallery, in an exhibition entitled International Photography Platinum Series (佰年攝影史—白金攝影).
■ 1839 Contemporary Gallery (當代藝廊), B1, 120 Yanji St, Taipei City (台北市延吉街120號B1), tel: (02) 2778-8458. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 8pm
■ Until Aug. 16
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
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