With titles such as Middle Finger (給你中指), Fuck Fuck, Naughty Elf (囝仔精) and Sucking Sucking, there is at first glance little subtlety in Chou Chu-wang’s (周珠旺) stainless steel sculptures and acrylic-on-canvas paintings. But perhaps that’s a good thing. Chou’s drawings avoid the sentimentality common to depictions of childhood by Taiwanese artists. These psychologically complex works look at the devilish behavior and imagination of children — many of whom clutch weapons and have horns growing from their heads. Chou won the grand prize for the 2007 Taipei Fine Arts awards, and his work has been collected by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions over the past decade.
I don’t know whether to admire Lin Yu-tin’s (林玉婷) sculptures of Taiwan’s buildings erected during the 1950s and 1960s, or dig into them. Lin employs cake-decorating skills to imbue these banal structures with mouth-watering pizzazz, part of a growing body of work by young Taiwanese artists who are re-interpreting Taiwan’s recent past in charmingly unique ways. Lin has participated in a few solo and group exhibitions since hitting the art scene back in 2002.
If Lin’s sculptures are too saccharine for your taste, Chen I-chun’s (陳依純) videos might provide the proper antidote. Employing icy blue tones and earthy browns, they examine the conflict globalization creates within local communities where one increasingly searches in vain for uniqueness. Be sure to spend a few minutes with Chen if you catch a glimpse of her, as she is wonderful raconteur. Like many of the young artists exhibited in MIT this year, Chen has participated in a number of international group exhibits as well as being nominated for awards in the US, Brazil and Taiwan.
In an age of 12-hour workdays and high rates of divorce, I Have No Time to Love You, a series of photos and sculptures by Lin Tai-hsuan (林岱璇), could well define love in our era. But Lin is more interested in the impermanence of memory and its effect on the individual. Employing scene-setting techniques, Lin’s dreamlike images rendered in gentle pastels attempt to reproduce fleeting moments of beauty. Lin has participated in exhibits at Taipei’s Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as group shows in China and Macao.
Shen Bo-cheng’s (沈柏丞) inventive sculptural installations combine Braille translation with a hand-cranked music box to explore the senses of touch, sight and sound. As the pins on a revolving cylinder pass over the raised dots of the Braille script, the writing system becomes accessible to sighted listeners. In addition to numerous solo shows throughout Taiwan, Shen took first prize in the 8th Taoyuan Art Awards.
Wu Chang-jung (吳長蓉) is obsessed with swine — though not in a weird way. Drawing on her own experiences of working on her family’s pig farm, Wu creates kaleidoscopic images of these animals from various positions and perspectives. These works of considerable beauty are also meant to draw attention to the demise of the animal husbandry industry in Taiwan following the world financial crisis. Wu took top honors at the 35th Annual National Award of Calligraphy and Painting in 2008 and more recently received the award of excellence in this year’s Kaohsiung Fine Arts Award for new media.
Hsu Wei-hui (徐薇蕙) studied oil painting while earning a degree at Hsinchu Teachers College but switched to multi-media installation with a focus on fabric in graduate school in the US. Her monotone installations, some of which look like window designs for an up-market fashion house, focuses on the anxieties and contradictions — sometimes hidden, other times overt — women feel about looking beautiful. Hsu has participated in a number of solo shows and group exhibits in Taiwan and the US.
Chang Huei-ming (張暉明) and Liao Chi-yu (廖祈羽) are partners in life as well as art. Their videos depict Mimi and Lucy, avatars of the artists, who are placed into fantasy worlds that are meant to serve as projections of real-life situations. As they venture deeper into this fantasy world, the problems they encounter become all too real. They also work on their own: Chang took first prize at the Taipei Arts Awards last year, and Liao was nominated for the 2008 Taipei Arts Awards.
Following the shock complete failure of all the recall votes against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers on July 26, pan-blue supporters and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were giddy with victory. A notable exception was KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), who knew better. At a press conference on July 29, he bowed deeply in gratitude to the voters and said the recalls were “not about which party won or lost, but were a great victory for the Taiwanese voters.” The entire recall process was a disaster for both the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The only bright spot for
As last month dawned, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in a good position. The recall campaigns had strong momentum, polling showed many Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers at risk of recall and even the KMT was bracing for losing seats while facing a tsunami of voter fraud investigations. Polling pointed to some of the recalls being a lock for victory. Though in most districts the majority was against recalling their lawmaker, among voters “definitely” planning to vote, there were double-digit margins in favor of recall in at least five districts, with three districts near or above 20 percent in
From Godzilla’s fiery atomic breath to post-apocalyptic anime and harrowing depictions of radiation sickness, the influence of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki runs deep in Japanese popular culture. In the 80 years since the World War II attacks, stories of destruction and mutation have been fused with fears around natural disasters and, more recently, the Fukushima crisis. Classic manga and anime series Astro Boy is called “Mighty Atom” in Japanese, while city-leveling explosions loom large in other titles such as Akira, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Attack on Titan. “Living through tremendous pain” and overcoming trauma is a recurrent theme in Japan’s
The great number of islands that make up the Penghu archipelago make it a fascinating place to come back and explore again and again. On your next trip to Penghu, why not get off the beaten path and explore a lesser-traveled outlying island? Jibei Island (吉貝嶼) in Baisha Township (白沙鄉) is a popular destination for its long white sand beach and water activities. However, three other permanently inhabited islands in the township put a unique spin on the traditional Penghu charm, making them great destinations for the curious tourist: Yuanbeiyu (員貝嶼), Niaoyu (鳥嶼) and Dacangyu (大倉嶼). YUANBEIYU Citou Wharf (岐頭碼頭) connects the mainland
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