Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

Comments on the Finalist

With “secret” and “south” as metaphors, the exhibition on the one hand examines the forgotten puzzle of Taiwanese art history and the history of museum collection, particularly the aspects that have been stressed or overlooked due to the continuation of diplomacy and politics. On the other hand, the curator re-examines the exhibition mechanism and disparities in the art history studies built on geographical reality and on historical identity, and investigates whether the art ecology continuously changes with the international environment, economy and trade as well as strategic positions. As part of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum’s experimental collection exhibition series, artworks included in the museum collection can still be adapted to reflect the situations at the time of the exhibition. This is also the curator’s strategy to render the exhibition mechanism more political. (Commentator / WU Chieh-Hsiang)

Artwork Introduction

The “Global South” roughly refers to a set of developing countries, former colonies and non-Western cultural regions, among which Taiwan finds itself in a rather paradoxical position in this regard. From serving as a springboard for the Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia during the period of Japanese rule, to providing logistics facilities during the Cold War, and then looking for allies despite difficult diplomatic situations, Taiwan’s role as a go-between seems to be a recurrent theme in the history. Most of the works in the exhibition are from the collection of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and some from different museums and foundations in Taiwan. In a way, this exhibition not only features the history of post-war artistic exchanges between Taiwan and the “Global South,” it also offers a glimpse into the art from the South in Taiwan’s museum collections.

About the Artist

TAKAMORI Nobuo. He is an independent curator and the director of Outsiders Factory, a curators collective. He has endeavored in facilitating contemporary artistic exchanges between Taiwan and other heterogeneous cultural regions as well as researching on the history of modern and contemporary artistic  exchanges, through which he highlights the diverse cultural contexts and curatorial narratives in Taiwan’s visual art. His curatorial works in recent years include Taiwan International Video Art Exhibition – The Return of Ghosts (2014), Tabaco, Carpet, Lunch Box, Textile Machinery and Cave Men: The Narratives of Craftsmanship and Technologies in Contemporary Art (2017), The Middleman, the Backpacker, the Alien Species and the Time Traveler (2019), etc.

Production Team

Chief Curator: Ping Lin

Guest Curator: Takamori Nobuo

Artists：

Ishihara Shisan, Deng Nan Guang, Hsu Wu Yung, Ho Te Lai, Zhu Ming Gang, Mei Dean E, Kuo Hsueh Hu, Ma Pai Sui, Liu Max C. W., Ang Kiukok, Shiy De Jinn, Hsu Chia Wei, Tsai Tsao Ju, Shaih Lifa, Lee Yung Chih, Ong Kim Seng, Ho Kah Leong, Liu Kang, Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng, Luis González Palma, Santos Arzú Quioto, José Alfredo Rodríguez Guillén, Manuel Zumbado Retana, Priscilla Monge, Xenia Mejia Padilla, Yao Jui Chung & Hank Cheng, Au Sow Yee, Lim Hooi Hwa, Chuan Hui Hua, Chiu Chen Hung, Chang En Man, Wong Hoy Cheong, So Yo Hen, Irwan Ahmett & Tita Salina

Archive researchers： 

Huang Yi Hsiung, Chen Hsiang Wen, Koh Nguang How, Rikey Tenn Bun Ki

Exhibition Chief： Sharleen Yu

Exhibition Coordinator：  Tsai Ya Chi

Exhibition Assistant：  Lin I Chieh

Maintenance： Wang Li Li, Chen Hung Tu

Exhibition Designer：  Lin Chih Feng, Fu Yu Hsin

Display Coordinator： Chih Han Yu

Graphic Designer： Lin Guan Ming, Lin Pei Chi

Installation Team：  Alvin Liao, Li Cheng Shien, Zack Peng Sunway Express Co., Ltd

Marketing and Public Relations： Kao Tzu Chin, Liu Hui Ping, Liao Chien Nan

Education and Public Services： Shiung Sz Ting, Chang Fang Wei, Shi Shu Yi, Sun Mu Chen

Conservator： Ku Jen Jung, Chiu Shih Hsin

Photographers： Chen Yung Jen, Chen Chih Ho, Tsao Yi Wen

Intern： Lim Yi Shun