Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

Comments on the Finalist

After years of creative experiments, Candy Bird’s graffiti painting has now matured, turning into an artistic language full of personal colors and charms. They are not spontaneous street arts; they are now attacking all social spaces, going beyond the so-called “graffiti art”. They are action planner and participants with ideas, and their visual vocabulary is to poke fun and criticize the control on society and exploitation of land by capitalist powers and their beneficiaries. In recent years, Candy Bird’s paintings have gained greater exposure, and are better known to the public, echoing the voice that accuses inequality in the society. Therefore, his works cannot be seen as temporary occupation of public space, an incidental discourse with the right to convey; rather, his paintings have transformed to become the channel that speaks for the weak, expanding the pictorial tension of this art form. (Written by CHEN Tai-Song)

Artwork Introduction

The entire city is his art studio. In different streets in Taiwan, one often encounters his works, greeting passersby from dilapidated corners or surfacing as the shadow of a storyteller, who briefly yet bluntly exposes the injustice of the civilized world. As his travels take him to different places, he has carried bottled cement paint in his suitcase and brought his works to Berlin, Myanmar, and Beijing. He has often said, “everything can be painted,” which states the most prominent features in relation to the viewing space of graffiti. He likes to treat himself a carbonated drink and enjoys the pleasantness triggered by food coloring and sugar on the tongue. He is the graffiti artist, Candy Bird.

About the Artist

Candy Bird is the pseudonym of HAN Chun-Yueh (b. 1982). He holds a BFA from Huafan University. He mainly works with graffiti and mural, and is now based in Taipei. His works can be found throughout Taiwan, and in several major cities, including Berlin, Tokyo, and Sao Paulo.