Hsu Wei-hui’s (徐薇蕙) sculptures and installations invite the viewer to question, to challenge and to re-examine gender roles and how ideals of beauty operate to create standards of female perfection. In The Counteroffensives (粉紅逆襲), a must-see exhibition currently on view at Liang Gallery (尊彩藝術中心) until Feb. 28, Hsu ponders the contradictions and conflicts between notions of imagined beauty and the impossibility of living up to an unrealistic expectation that, for many, is all too real. Drawing on her considerable artistic talent, Hsu’s feminine sculptures — dresses, flower petals and kitchen utensils — all made from facial masks, symbolize the human body and the changes it undergoes over time. Guerilla Girls, several installations some of which contains thousands of plastic toy soldiers dressed in patterned dresses and painted hot pink, inverts our stereotypical assumptions about the toys boys play with, and serves as an entertaining and thought-provoking statement about female empowerment.
■ Liang Gallery (尊彩藝術中心), 366 Ruiguang Rd, Taipei City (台北市瑞光路366號), tel: (02) 2797-1100. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm
Photo courtesy of Liang gallery
■ Until Feb. 28
Photo courtesy of Liang gallery
Photo courtesy of Liang gallery
Photo courtesy of Liang gallery
Photo courtesy of Liang gallery
Photo courtesy of Liang gallery
Photo courtesy of Liang gallery
Photo courtesy of Liang gallery
The Portuguese never established a presence on Taiwan, but they must have traded with the indigenous people because later traders reported that the locals referred to parts of deer using Portuguese words. What goods might the Portuguese have offered their indigenous trade partners? Among them must have been slaves, for the Portuguese dealt slaves across Asia. Though we often speak of “Portuguese” ships, imagining them as picturesque vessels manned by pointy-bearded Iberians, in Asia Portuguese shipping between local destinations was crewed by Asian seamen, with a handful of white or Eurasian officers. “Even the great carracks of 1,000-2,000 tons which plied
It’s only half the size of its more famous counterpart in Taipei, but the Botanical Garden of the National Museum of Nature Science (NMNS, 國立自然科學博物館植物園) is surely one of urban Taiwan’s most inviting green spaces. Covering 4.5 hectares immediately northeast of the government-run museum in Taichung’s North District (北區), the garden features more than 700 plant species, many of which are labeled in Chinese but not in English. Since its establishment in 1999, the site’s managers have done their best to replicate a number of native ecosystems, dividing the site into eight areas. The name of the Coral Atoll Zone might
On Monday morning, in quick succession, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) released statements announcing “that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and General Secretary Xi Jinping (習近平) have invited KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) to lead a delegation on a visit to the mainland” as the KMT’s press release worded it. The KMT’s press release added “Chairwoman Cheng expressed her gratitude for the invitation and has gladly accepted it.” Beijing’s official Xinhua news release described Song Tao (宋濤), head of the Taiwan Work Office of the CCP Central Committee, as
Nuclear power is getting a second look in Southeast Asia as countries prepare to meet surging energy demand as they vie for artificial intelligence-focused data centers. Several Southeast Asian nations are reviving mothballed nuclear plans and setting ambitious targets and nearly half of the region could, if they pursue those goals, have nuclear energy in the 2030s. Even countries without current plans have signaled their interest. Southeast Asia has never produced a single watt of nuclear energy, despite long-held atomic ambitions. But that may soon change as pressure mounts to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change, while meeting growing power needs. The