Hsu Ming-jen (許銘仁) depicts the natural beauty and scenery surrounding Grass Mountain Village in his solo show On the Other Side of the Landscape (在風景的彼岸). Hsu says he used drawing as his medium in this series because it “illustrates my thoughts and observations for its direct and basic quality.” The clean and blurred lines of these images mirror the artist’s ideas about the monumentality of mountains and the mysterious landscapes that blanket them.
■ Grass Mountain Artist Village (草山國際藝術村), 92 Hudi Rd, Taipei City (台北市湖底路92 號). Open Wednesdays to Sundays from 10am to 4pm. Tel: (02) 2862-2404. Opens Saturdays at 11am
■ Until July 25
Taiwan’s fishing ports, farm scenes and village life are among the rich and vibrant landscapes seen in the retrospective exhibit of Chen Bo-wen (陳博文), The Beauty of Taiwan — A Memorial Exhibition of the Art of Chen Bo-wen (展現台灣風情 — 陳博文創作紀念展). In addition to Chen’s realist paintings, the exhibition includes sketches from his notebooks and extracts of writing that shed light on his artistic philosophy in a show that illustrates not only the artist’s achievements but also his profound love for his native land.
■ National Museum of History (國立歷史博物館), 49 Nanhai Rd, Taipei City (台北市南海路49號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 2361-0270. General admission: NT$30
■ Until July 25
Pale human heads emerging from the throat of verdant green frogs and an emaciated flying horse with its front half in the form of the torso of a naked woman are among the surrealist figures found in Japanese painter Tomohiro Takagi’s solo show Fur — Away. Takagi’s unusual and highly original paintings playfully depict the relationship between humans and nature, while also offering warnings about environmental destruction.
■ Elsa Art Gallery (雲清藝術中心), 3F, 1-1 Tianmu E Rd, Taipei City (台北市天母東路1-1號3樓). Open daily from 1pm to 7pm, closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Tel: (02) 2876-0386
■ Until July 18
Tripolar — 3 Positions in German Video Art presents six works by three German artists, Robert Seidel, Max Hattler and Daniel Burkhardt, working in video. The show attempts to map the characteristics of German video art and its evolution over the past several decades. The exhibition is also screening Taipei Impressions, a video meditation on the artists’ one-week sojourn to Taipei.
■ Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MOCA, Taipei), 39 Changan W Rd, Taipei City (台北市長安西路39號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 2552-3721. General admission: NT$50
■ Until July 18
Chinese-born German artist Zhang Qikai (張奇開) examines the perceived discordant relationship between East and West in Mr Panda’s Wonderland (Mr.熊貓的魔法時空). Employing China’s iconic panda as an emblem of the spiritual quest to find true meaning, Zhang’s realistic paintings juxtapose the materialistic aspirations of the West, symbolized, for example, by diamonds, dice and poker cards, with the spiritual longings of an artist far from home.
■ Metaphysical Art Gallery (形而上畫廊), 7F, 219, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段219號7樓). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 6:30pm. Tel: (02) 2711-0055
■ Until June 30
Jan 13 to Jan 19 Yang Jen-huang (楊仁煌) recalls being slapped by his father when he asked about their Sakizaya heritage, telling him to never mention it otherwise they’ll be killed. “Only then did I start learning about the Karewan Incident,” he tells Mayaw Kilang in “The social culture and ethnic identification of the Sakizaya” (撒奇萊雅族的社會文化與民族認定). “Many of our elders are reluctant to call themselves Sakizaya, and are accustomed to living in Amis (Pangcah) society. Therefore, it’s up to the younger generation to push for official recognition, because there’s still a taboo with the older people.” Although the Sakizaya became Taiwan’s 13th
Earlier this month, a Hong Kong ship, Shunxin-39, was identified as the ship that had cut telecom cables on the seabed north of Keelung. The ship, owned out of Hong Kong and variously described as registered in Cameroon (as Shunxin-39) and Tanzania (as Xinshun-39), was originally People’s Republic of China (PRC)-flagged, but changed registries in 2024, according to Maritime Executive magazine. The Financial Times published tracking data for the ship showing it crossing a number of undersea cables off northern Taiwan over the course of several days. The intent was clear. Shunxin-39, which according to the Taiwan Coast Guard was crewed
China’s military launched a record number of warplane incursions around Taiwan last year as it builds its ability to launch full-scale invasion, something a former chief of Taiwan’s armed forces said Beijing could be capable of within a decade. Analysts said China’s relentless harassment had taken a toll on Taiwan’s resources, but had failed to convince them to capitulate, largely because the threat of invasion was still an empty one, for now. Xi Jinping’s (習近平) determination to annex Taiwan under what the president terms “reunification” is no secret. He has publicly and stridently promised to bring it under Communist party (CCP) control,
One way people in Taiwan can control how they are represented is through their choice of name. Culturally, it is not uncommon for people to choose their own names and change their identification cards and passports to reflect the change, though only recently was the right to use Indigenous names written using letters allowed. Reasons for changing a person’s name can vary widely, from wanting to sound more literary, to changing a poor choice made by their parents or, as 331 people did in March of 2021, to get free sushi by legally changing their name to include the two characters
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