Taiwan Today

In 2003, Yosifu was on vacation in Greece when something happened that was to change the course of his life. One night, as the Amis man was half asleep, he saw three angels standing by his bed. As he stared at the figures, they addressed him, saying, “Hey, it’s time to paint.” “They guided my hand as I drew a colorful river on the wall,” he says. This experience might sound unbelievable to many people, the artist admits, but it motivated him to take up painting and pursue a career in art.

Yosifu, who uses only one name, was born in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan in 1968. His first career plan was to be a singer, so after graduating from high school, he moved to Taipei at the age of 18 and formed a band with several friends. They got the chance to release an album, but later were prohibited from working due to a financial dispute between their agent and record company. The disagreement dragged on for some five years, during which time Yosifu felt despair at being prevented from pursuing his chosen profession. Eventually, to take a break from his troubles in Taiwan, he decided to visit a friend in Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, and the city’s beauty and vibrant arts scene immediately captivated him. That was in 1998 and he has lived in Edinburgh ever since.

At first, to make ends meet, he took work involving the other kind of painting—painting houses. Although he loved the city, in those early years he was often homesick and sometimes depressed, especially when he reflected on his failed musical ambitions and work as a house painter.

After returning to Edinburgh from his trip to Greece, however, Yosifu started to explore his newfound interest in art, at first spending his evenings copying famous paintings. Amazed at the skill of those early works, the artist’s landlord introduced Yosifu to a friend, who was an art agent. The agent invited Yosifu to participate in an exhibition featuring oil paintings by around 10 emerging artists. Yosifu was the first one to sell a piece on the opening day of the event.

Given the positive feedback he was receiving, Yosifu devoted more time to his art and mustered up the courage to approach galleries, luxury hotels and upscale restaurants to promote his work. The response from those businesses, however, was less encouraging, and after numerous rejections he began to lose hope. Then one day he was taking a break at a local café when he noticed several paintings on the walls with price tags next to them. Yosifu instantly checked with the café owner and learned that there was an opening to display work, but only for five days. He pounced on the opportunity, with the result that 12 of the 15 pieces he exhibited were sold.

In subsequent years, Yosifu experimented with painting animals, flowers and other popular subjects in an attempt to make his work more marketable. It was not until 2008 that the painter began to develop his own visual language and express his experiences and feelings through his artwork. “At that time, a British friend asked me, ‘You’re a Taiwanese aborigine. How come I don’t see you creating images that represent your tribal culture?’” Yosifu says. “His question really inspired me to contemplate my cultural identity and artistic ideals.”

Yosifu returned to Taiwan in 2010, staying for half a year in his hometown and other tribal villages in order to gain a deeper understanding of indigenous cultures and traditions. It was a journey that not only allowed him to reconnect with tribal communities, but also became a strong source of inspiration for his artistic creations. The artist has since returned to Taiwan for at least three months each year to visit aboriginal villages throughout the island, teach children to draw, and exhibit new paintings. To date, he has shown work in more than 20 exhibitions locally and in the UK.

Yang Chia-ling (楊佳玲), a senior lecturer in the School of History of Art at the University of Edinburgh, says she has seen many of Yosifu’s still lifes, but regards the works that focus on aboriginal themes as among his best. “Yosifu’s portraits of aboriginal people catch the viewer’s eye. They helped establish his reputation and have been collected by people of various nationalities,” she says. “Apart from their aesthetic value, they address serious issues faced by indigenous peoples such as historical injustices concerning the expropriation of ancestral lands and suppression of aboriginal languages.”

For example, Driftwood (2010), which depicts an Amis man holding a piece of wood, suggests the plight of indigenous peoples who were driven from their homelands and had to drift from place to place. Can’t Speak (2010), meanwhile, shows an Amis woman holding a finger to her lips, implying that she is not allowed to talk. This piece, Yang says, describes the artist’s childhood experiences of being forbidden to speak his mother tongue in school as students were only allowed to use the national language, Mandarin, at that time.

Some pieces explore broader problems, such as the role of modern technology in society, Yang says. The 2012 piece Should We Talk? features two women sitting next to each other, with one talking on a cellphone and the other sending a text message. The image highlights how modern technology has changed the way people communicate and created distance between them.

Many of the portraits Yosifu produces are of his family members, and tell stories about them, notes curator Tiffany Chen (陳欣婷), who lives in London and often works on exchanges between Asian and European museums. The artist’s depictions of people also extend to members of other tribes including the Atayal, Paiwan, Puyuma and Thao. Chen says she was fascinated when she first saw Yosifu’s work, which is full of vibrant colors, three years ago at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. “The artist paints portraits as a means of self-expression and introspection,” she says. “His sensitive use of color as well as light and shade makes his subject matter come to life and gives his work dramatic intensity.”

Chen believes that the vivid colors Yosifu favors make his portraits distinctive, and are one of the elements that give his work a visual style evocative of images from the fashion world. “That being the case, his creations have broad applications in the fashion and cultural and creative industries,” she says. In fact, French cosmetics and beauty company L’Oréal featured Driftwood as a projected backdrop for a hair and fashion show in Dubai in 2014.

Lawa Kushin, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Taipei-based Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation and a member of the Atayal tribe, sees a strong message behind Yosifu’s color choices. “He uses warm, rich colors like yellow, orange and red in his depictions of tribespeople to convey his affection for them, as well as emphasize indigenous rights in regards to lands, languages and ways of life,” she says.

The CEO also admires the artist’s personal qualities along with his artwork. Yosifu possesses great enthusiasm, generosity and passion, and he uses these qualities to create art and promote indigenous cultures, she notes. “I know that he’s experienced many frustrations and I admire his ability to transform the negative into the positive,” she says.

The Amis painter is very outgoing and likes to share his stories and thoughts, Lawa says. “With his artistic accomplishments, he’s a role model for young indigenous people, encouraging them to believe that they can get to where he is,” she adds.

The University of Edinburgh’s Yang says another remarkable fact about Yosifu is that he did not receive a formal art education, and adds that he is one of the few Taiwanese indigenous artists dedicated to painting, while most others are engaged in sculpture.

As a devout Christian, Yosifu says he is filled with gratitude for the way that his life has unfolded. “When God closes a door, he always opens a window. I was once dismayed at my failure to become a singer and at having to take on a painting job to make a living,” he recalls. “I see things in a different light now. Years of working in the painting trade, for example, helped prepare me, to some extent, to become an oil painter.”

Through his vigorous portraits, Yosifu intends to display the dignity, spirit and traditions of Taiwan’s indigenous tribes, challenge stereotypes, and create a new visual history for aboriginal peoples.

In his 2011 self-portrait, I Hear Myself, Yosifu depicts himself smiling and with a hand over his heart. “The work shows my resolve to listen to my inner voice and my delight at embracing my cultural identity,” he says.

Write to Kelly Her at kher@mofa.gov.tw