The Taiwan Human Rights and Cultural Association yesterday launched a nationwide touring exhibition of a bronze statue of Taiwanese artist Nagee’s Grandpa Puppet (布袋爺爺) at Taichung Mayor’s House to inspire viewers to reflect on the meaning of statues, reality and Taiwanese history.
The green statue features Grandpa Puppet holding a walking stick in his right hand and a book in his left. Inscribed on the base are the words yong chui bu xiu (永垂不朽, “immortal”).
Grandpa Puppet is a popular character on his Facebook page, Nagee said at the unveiling ceremony, which was also attended by association deputy chairman Hsieh Tsung-hsien (謝宗憲) and Taichung Social Affairs Bureau Deputy Director Chen Chung-liang (陳仲良).
Photo: Chang Ching-ya, Taipei Times
Grandpa Puppet is narcissistic and has erected statues of himself everywhere, Nagee said.
“This bronze statue is not Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), not Mao Zedong (毛澤東), not Adolf Hitler and not [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un,” it is a character from a fictional world, he said.
Nagee said he would also create a fictional universe of bronze statues that would tour around the nation.
As these statues appear in people’s lives, each person might have different ideas about the meaning behind them, he said.
The ability to allow people to reflect upon that fictional universe, those characters and the meaning of the statues is the best feedback he could receive, he added.
The Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例) has already passed its third reading, association chief executive Tsai Chih-hao (蔡智豪) said, adding that the purpose of removing authoritarian symbols is not to cause hostility, opposition or division.
Nagee created a bronze statue of Grandpa Puppet to transform this kind of conflict, Tsai added.
Tsai said he hopes the exhibition would help Taiwan get through this transitional period marked by the removal of authoritarian symbols.
The statue is to be on view until April 23.
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