Lee Ji-hong’s (李基宏) Anachronism (過時) is a solo exhibition of short time-lapse videos titled after their month of production. The films show Lee himself playing different whimsical games for one. April’s Work 2013 is a record of Lee walking backwards daily at the Taipei Main Station and the reactions of other pedestrians. In July’s Work 2013 — Lee’s interpretation of the “romantic life of the artist” — he is clocking in at the IT Park Gallery every day to wash its windows.
■ IT Park Gallery (伊通公園), 41 Yitong St, Taipei City (台北市伊通街41號), tel: (02) 2507-7243. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 1pm to 10pm
■ Opening reception tomorrow at 7pm. Until Aug. 31
Photo Courtesy of Wu Pei-han
Chinese artist-hermit Hong Ling (洪凌) shows recent work in a rare solo exhibition titled Nature (道法自然). Born in Beijing in 1955, Hong was one of the first Chinese artists to reinterpret the classic form of Chinese landscape using Western oil painting techniques. Hong’s oeuvre is inspired mostly by Yellow Mountain (黃山), where he lives as a recluse.
■ Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts (關渡美術館), 1 Xueyuan Rd, Taipei City (台北市學園路1號), tel: (02) 2893-8870. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 5pm
■ Until Sept. 22
Photo Courtesy of Yesart Air Gallery
Meanwhile at the group exhibition New Poetry (新詩意), Chinese painters use the age-old medium of ink in fresh ways. Eighteen artists render untraditional visual subjects — like a carousel, or a bikini-clad woman — while calling on techniques from Cubism and other Western aesthetics.
■ Soka Art Center (索卡藝術中心), 2F, 57, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段57號2樓), tel: (02) 2570-0390. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 9pm
■ Until Sept. 8
Withered Childhood (凋零的童年) is a solo photography exhibition by Wu Pei-han (吳珮韓), a professional costume designer and make-up artist. The gallery includes nearly 100 works of original costumes, props and makeup design in macabre scenes. In the Playmates (玩伴) series, adults stare into space through bruised eyes, while friends in The Joys of Childhood (童趣) have permanent crimson smiles drawn over a pallor foundation.
■ Sun Yat-sen Library (逸仙書坊), Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館), 505, Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei City, (台北市仁愛路4段505號), tel: (02) 2758-8008 ext. 545, open daily from 9am to 6pm
■ Until Sunday
Origins (源) is Annie Hsiao-wen Wang’s (王筱雯) first solo show of oil paintings and ink sketches in Taipei, her birth city. Works of the long-term Australia resident are like a remote moor shown out of focus: They are fog-like spreads of muted colors that reveal no story and no concrete objects. Interested in transcending the materialistic world, Wang uses the language of abstraction to create a silent and perhaps revelatory moment for the viewer.
■ Yesart Air Gallery, 2F, 48, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 7, Taipei City (台北市中山北路七段48號2F), open Tuesdays to Sundays from 2pm to 8pm
■ Until Aug. 13
Just after 6am, I walked up to the ticket gate at Taipei Main Station and entered the Taiwan Railway platform without scanning any ticket; instead, I flashed the Sanrio Fun Rail pass on my phone to the gate worker and was admitted. I found my train and prepared to board. My destination? This very same station. I was embarking on a 13-hour journey on one of two round-the-island trains operated by ezTravel. They run each day, one counterclockwise around the island and one clockwise. They differ in a number of ways from an ordinary Taiwan Railway train and can make for
Jason Han says that the e-arrival card spat between South Korea and Taiwan shows that Seoul is signaling adherence to its “one-China” policy, while Taiwan’s response reflects a reciprocal approach. “Attempts to alter the diplomatic status quo often lead to tit-for-tat responses,” the analyst on international affairs tells the Taipei Times, adding that Taiwan may become more cautious in its dealings with South Korea going forward. Taipei has called on Seoul to correct its electronic entry system, which currently lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan),” warning that reciprocal measures may follow if the wording is not changed before March 31. As of yesterday,
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On Thursday, former Taipei mayor and founder of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Seven others related to the case were also handed prison sentences, while two were found not guilty. It has been a bad week for the TPP. On Tuesday, prosecutors charged Chinese immigrant Xu Chunying (徐春鶯) with suspicion of taking part in Beijing-directed election interference. Xu has strong links to the TPP, which once offered her a party list legislator nomination. Tuesday also
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