Works by Atayal artist Ciwas Tahos are being featured in the Hawaii Triennial, the U.S. state’s largest modern art exhibition, through May 4.
This year marks the first time that Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles, an overseas branch of the Ministry of Culture, collaborated with the event organizer, the MOC said.
At the event’s Feb. 15 launch, Jerry Chang, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Honolulu, exchanged views with Ciwas, who also goes by her Chinese name of Lin An-chi, discussing hopes for cultural dialogues through artistic exchanges among Taiwan, Hawaii and Pacific Island countries.
Chien Te-yuan, head of the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles, noted that Taiwan and Hawaii share the experience of colonization, as well as an Austronesian root. He voiced confidence that the inclusion of an artist from Taiwan in the triennial would facilitate even closer ties in culture and society between the two sides, and praised the achievements of Taiwan’s Indigenous artists in modern art.
Ciwas’ work “Finding Pathways to Temahahoi” is based on the Atayal legend of a society deep in the forest and is quest for a modern version of this inclusive, accepting place, the MOC said, calling it a reflection upon issues of ecology and gender.
Pieces by Ciwas can also be seen at this year’s Sharjah Biennial in the United Arab Emirates and Stellenbosch Triennale in South Africa. (POC-E)
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