Four women who met while studying art in Paris have put together a show under the title: Like Water, Like Flowers (
Traditional Chinese society, in which polygamy was acceptable, has always been very tolerant towards men having multiple partners, but has always looked askance at "popular" women. Liu, the most prolific artist in this show, challenges this prejudice towards women. There is plenty of room for imagination in her suggestive videos, which feature images of soft materials such as water, milk and cream against such aggressive images as a clenched fist, a mixer and a razor, which shows her belief in creating balance and harmony between the two sexes. She admits the images also suggest anxiety. "There is definitely anxiety as well as pleasure when it comes to this topic -- something that people don't talk about," she said.
Her double perspective is also evident in her photographic work Comment Dissequer une Gernade (
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
As the only person in the team who now lives in Taiwan, Chen has touched on the issue of female repression and role recognition more than the others. This emphasis is evident in her offering Cent Tetes, Sans Tete(
"What's the difference between having 100 heads and having none?" she asked rhetorically.
Growing up in a traditional family where women are not encouraged to have their own thoughts, Chen says too much thinking gets a girl nowhere, only making her even more lost and isolated. She has stuffed a manikin with as much paper as she could, a sign of contraction of identity and suppression of her own personality. The patriarchal society that describes women's behavior of being "like water, like flowers" as bad, she regards as a way of oppressing independent spirited women.
In a softer mood, Seng interprets the images of water and flowers as something floating, fragile and fickle as opposed to being solid and stable. Seng displays two sets of books to show how she has transferred her unsettled thoughts into a romantic lifestyle. Her books document projects that she conducted in various places around the world, in which she makes little boats, takes them to the waters' edge and releases them -- a ceremony symbolic of her journey into the world. Her memories are also recorded in black and white photos, which also form a travelogue.
"The wandering nature is a romantic one, with plenty of memories and recollections," says Seng, returning to the idea of how images of water and flowers are connected with women.
Lin's photographic works of herself covered with all kinds of materials for a kind of beauty treatment is mildly sarcastic: women just can't get away from wanting to be beautiful to be popular, but the process, for Lin, is particularly ugly.
Climate change, political headwinds and diverging market dynamics around the world have pushed coffee prices to fresh records, jacking up the cost of your everyday brew or a barista’s signature macchiato. While the current hot streak may calm down in the coming months, experts and industry insiders expect volatility will remain the watchword, giving little visibility for producers — two-thirds of whom farm parcels of less than one hectare. METEORIC RISE The price of arabica beans listed in New York surged by 90 percent last year, smashing on Dec. 10 a record dating from 1977 — US$3.48 per pound. Robusta prices have
A dozen excited 10-year-olds are bouncing in their chairs. The small classroom’s walls are lined with racks of wetsuits and water equipment, and decorated with posters of turtles. But the students’ eyes are trained on their teacher, Tseng Ching-ming, describing the currents and sea conditions at nearby Banana Bay, where they’ll soon be going. “Today you have one mission: to take off your equipment and float in the water,” he says. Some of the kids grin, nervously. They don’t know it, but the students from Kenting-Eluan elementary school on Taiwan’s southernmost point, are rare among their peers and predecessors. Despite most of
The resignation of Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) co-founder Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) as party chair on Jan. 1 has led to an interesting battle between two leading party figures, Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如). For years the party has been a one-man show, but with Ko being held incommunicado while on trial for corruption, the new chair’s leadership could be make or break for the young party. Not only are the two very different in style, their backgrounds are very different. Tsai is a co-founder of the TPP and has been with Ko from the very beginning. Huang has
A few years ago, getting a visa to visit China was a “ball ache,” says Kate Murray. The Australian was going for a four-day trade show, but the visa required a formal invitation from the organizers and what felt like “a thousand forms.” “They wanted so many details about your life and personal life,” she tells the Guardian. “The paperwork was bonkers.” But were she to go back again now, Murray could just jump on the plane. Australians are among citizens of almost 40 countries for which China now waives visas for business, tourism or family visits for up to four weeks. It’s