An exhibition exploring the notion of the “Global South” and Taiwan’s relation to it opened on Saturday at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM).
Museum director Ping Lin (林平) served as the chief curator of “The Secret South: From Cold War Perspective to Global South in Museum Collection” (秘密南方: 典藏作品中的冷戰視角及全球南方), with Nobuo Takamori as guest curator.
The term "Global South" refers to a set of developing nations, former colonies and non-Western cultural regions, the TFAM said.
Most of the countries comprising the “Global South” are in Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Pacific Islands, it said.
The museum described Taiwan’s position in the context of the “Global South” as a “paradoxical” one.
“Although Taiwan is undeniably a developing country in Asia, it has been prevented from participating in a series of cultural and political movements since the Asian-African Conference of 1955 due to the postwar political context,” it said.
Consequently, the notion of a “Global South” has been regarded as a “remote issue” for Taiwanese, it said.
“Although Taiwan is geographically situated in the northern hemisphere, the historical center of gravity for civilization, it has always been viewed as bordering on the south,” Lin said.
This ambiguity is one of the issues “The Secret South” hopes to address, she said.
The “south” alludes to a specific yet constantly changing imagination, she said, adding that the term no longer simply refers to a geographical direction or spatial dimension, but rather “implies a certain value and charm.”
“The Secret South” features the works of more than three dozen artists and researchers, with many of the works coming from the collections held by TFAM and other public institutions, the museum said.
Refugees in Tarla, a 1943 painting by Shisan Ishihara, and paintings by Taiwanese artists who traveled to Southeast Asia during the Cold War period, such as Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), Max Liu (劉其偉) and Shiy De-jinn (席德進), are among the works on display.
Other highlights include contemporary pieces from the “Global South” and historical documents, while Taiwanese artist Yao Jui-chung (姚瑞中) and Malaysian artist Au Sow Yee have each created new projects for “The Secret South,” the museum said.
“The Secret South” is on display in the museum’s galleries 2A and 2B through Oct. 25.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS