It’s ironic that Liu Chih-hung’s (劉致宏) latest solo exhibition at the Barry Room in Taipei Artist Village is entitled Summer Flowers (生如夏花) as we are in the midst of yet another dreary cold front. Liu, who previously dabbled in painting and sketches, here turns to photography. The black and white images, taken during an artist residency in Japan last year, capture the subtle beauty of sakura trees in pre-blossom. The title alludes to the Indian writer Rabindranath Tagore’s poem Let Life Be Beautiful Like Summer Flowers. Like Tagore’s poem, Liu’s photographs thread beauty and despair, the real and the unreal, though the real message is one of homesickness and hope that sunnier, warmer days will come.
■ Barry Room, Taipei Artist Village (台北國際藝術村百里廳), 7 Beiping E Rd, Taipei City (台北市北平東路7號), tel: (02) 3393-7377. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 9pm
■ Until April 17
Photo courtesy of Galerie Nichido Taipei
Got It — Not Yet (將至的腦補), a joint exhibition at the Digital Art Center, consists of humorous pieces of video art that touch on the subjects of deja vu, imagination and disorientation. For example, Chen Han-sheng’s (陳漢聲) work deals with bugs found in smartphones and other digital devices. Although these gadgets are supposed to make our lives easier, they sometimes end up causing us trouble. But instead of expressing frustration or criticizing people’s dependency on technology, Chen compiles various images of buggy or malfunctioned screens and presents them in a way that is cartoonish. Wu Ssu-hsuan’s (巫思萱) work, meanwhile, is composed of 50 robot fingers and computer mouses. It pokes fun at the way we use social media while prompting viewers to rethink the way social media shapes our habits.
■ Digital Art Center (台北數位藝術中心), 180 Fuhua Rd, Taipei City (台北市福華路180號), tel: (02) 7736-0708. Open Tuesdays too Sundays from 10am to 6pm
■ Until April 24
Photo courtesy of TKG+ Projects
Galerie Nichido Taipei is back after a brief hiatus with a group exhibition, Remaining Sceneries (劫後風景), which features the minimalistic-style works of Taiwanese artists Lin Hsien-chun (林賢俊) and Huang Pin-ling (黃品玲), and Japanese artists Shinya Imanishi and Kota Hirakawa. From Imanishi’s stencil-like oil paintings depicting vague city scenes and portraits, to Huang’s stunning cool pastel paintings inspired by her travels to places like Iceland and Paris, these works share a sense of fear and reverence towards nature. There’s a sense of time elapsing, which makes human life seem short-lived and miniscule in the grand scheme of the universe. The general feeling, however, it not fatalistic but more matter-of-fact, as if the artists are trying to say that we might as well appreciate the beauty of life while it lasts.
■ Galerie Nichido Taipei (台北日動畫廊), 3F, 57, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段57號3樓), tel: (02) 2579-8795. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 11am to 7pm
■ Until May 7
Photo courtesy of Tomio Koyama Gallery
Japanese artist Mika Ninagawa’s photographs of vibrant, bright, pop culture-inspired flowers and goldfish are currently on display at Taipei’s Museum of Contemporary Art in the aptly named exhibition, Mika Ninagawa. Ninagawa’s personality is just as boisterous and colorful as her artwork. The well-dressed artist, who also shoots commercially for Japanese fashion publications and directs music videos, is frequently seen outfitted head-to-toe in floral prints. Her photographs are not just pretty to look at though, as they also examine themes such as youth culture and eroticism (because pretty flowers are always laden with hidden meaning, and goldfish too). But really, fashionistas will love this exhibition, especially the room that’s covered with blossoming pink sakuras which provides the perfect backdrop for taking selfies.
■ Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (台北當代藝術館, MOCA), 39 Changan W Rd, Taipei City (台北市長安西路39號), tel: (02) 2552-3720. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm
■ Until May 8
Photo courtesy of Galerie Nichido Taipei
The works of Taiwan-born, US-based artist Joyce Ho (何采柔) and Taipei-based Hong Kong artist Kit Lee (李傑) are currently on display at TKG+ Projects. Everyday Hypothesis (日常假設) explores the idea of domestic bliss and finding happiness in simple everyday things — a topic that both artists have repeatedly explored in the past. Worn-out bedsheets and table cloths feature largely in Lee’s work, while Ho plays with rubber gloves, arranging them in various interlocking positions on chopping boards. Ho’s background in theater is evident in her installation, as it looks like the gloves are acting out a story. Put simply, both artists make being a homebody seem cool.
■ TKG+ Projects, B1, 15, Ln 548, Ruiguang Rd, Taipei City (台北市瑞光路548巷15號B1), tel: (02) 2659-0798. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 7pm
■ Until May 15
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
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
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