Two Taiwan new media artists are set to take part in the London Design Biennale Sept. 4-23 as part of a Ministry of Culture program to expand artistic exchanges and raise the nation’s international profile.
Organized by the MOC’s Art Bank Taiwan, the national pavilion—titled Invisible Calls—will feature the work of artist Hsu Che-yu and photographer Wu Cheng-chang. Hsu’s “Lacuna” is a mixed media presentation combining sketches with video while Wu’s “The Noise Vision of Taiwan” is composed of artificial landscape images.
Taiwan’s participation in the biennial will showcase the country’s cultural achievements to international audiences, the MOC said, adding the artists’ visually arresting work will resonate with viewers and provoke discussion.
Hsu uses his work to explore media sensationalism and manipulation, while Wu trains his lens on images of pollution and environmental damage from development. In “The Noise Vision of Taiwan,” he inserts faceless images of himself into his photographs to create unease in his audience.
The 33-square-meter pavilion, curated by Su Cheng-pu, is themed The Right to Narration/Text Opposition, in which Hsu’s work is showcased and The Right to Silent Occupation, featuring Wu’s photographs.
In its second iteration this year, the London Design Biennale is exploring the theme of emotional states and will feature designs and curations from 40 countries, cities and territories.
Art Bank Taiwan, launched by the MOC in 2013, procures works from emerging local artists and leases them to government agencies and private companies to promote the nation’s vibrant art scene and nurture local talent. With a total of 1,847 pieces from 1,022 creators, the program organized exhibitions at Taiwan’s representative offices in New York, Singapore and Washington last year. (KWS-E)
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