According to the calculation of the Ministry of the Interior National Immigration Agency, there are in total over millions of new immigrants in Taiwan by the end of October in 2021. No matter the new immigrants come to Taiwan for studying, working, or marriage. Taiwan’s multi-culture has added a more splendid chapter with their striving experiences. The world can re-discover Taiwan from a different perspective. These excellent new immigrants have become great models for Taiwan’s international popularity and become the Outstanding immigrants in Taiwan.
【Taiwan Immigrant’s Global News network】launches the unit of “Outstanding immigrants in Taiwan.” We interviewed a few beloved new immigrants for our readers. With their excellent accomplishments, Taiwan could exert our visibility and influence with our wonderful stories on the international platform.
Outstanding immigrants in Taiwan - Made Sukariawan (Indonesia)
In the past two years, the world has been ravaged by Covid-19. Many people and things are messed up with their original lives due to this plague of the century. However, Made Sukariawan who is from Indonesia decides to turn this crisis into an opportunity and revive his childhood dream about woodcarving. Made’s woodworks were noticed by Taiwan and international woodcarving arts communities. He was invited to participate in over a dozen of exhibitions at home and abroad in these two years. He has become the high-profile rising star in the field of Taiwan and international woodcarving.
When it comes to his destiny with woodcarving, Made said, “I started to learn woodcarving when I was 8 years old. Wood has always been a part of my life.” Made’s father was a woodworker. Growing up, he was surrounded by wood. When Made was little, he grew a great interest in the veins and texture of the old wood. He would pick up the tools and imitate grownups carving wood when his father was not at home.
In 1999, Made was working at Club Med where he met a girl from Taiwan, Ling Fang.
Both of them were assigned to Club Med’s branches in Bali, Malaysia, Japan, and Maldives. They supported each other and experienced the Southeast Asian tsunami disaster together in Phuket Island, Thailand. In 2008, they got married. Made chose to follow his wife to settle in Taiwan.
Made has learned a handful of excellent cooking skills in Club Med. In order to successfully find a job as a chef in Taiwan, Made forced himself to remember all the previous exam questions for Baking Qualification Examination. Despite he didn’t learn Chinese in time, he still passed the examination with a high score. Then he served as a chef in a high-end Western restaurant in Taiwan with an admiring salary.
In the first few years when Made came to Taiwan, he liked to visit Taiwan’s temples on his holidays the most. The sculpture artifices in the temples seemed to reactivate Made’s soul for art. He picked up his carving knife again to make a birthday present for his mother-in-law. That was the time Made made sure woodcarving is what he want to do for the rest of his life.
Made has traveled around the world due to his working experience in Club Med for over ten years. It has broadened his international horizon and injected an international perspective for his woodcarving ideas. He further mixes Taiwan’s local features in his works. Made likes to carve with wasted wood and driftwood. He always likes to have conversations with the volunteers in the recycle depot, team members in the cleaning team, volunteers in the beach cleanups, and aunts in the traditional supermarket when he is gathering for the material. Made finds his creating inspiration easily through his interactions with Taiwanese and emerges it with Taiwan’s friendliness and love.
In 2019, Made participated Taiwan’s woodcarving competition. He managed to demonstrate the image full of love and the vivid spirit of Taiwan’s traditional deities which impressed the event organizer and art circle.
The Indonesian immigrant, Made who is a woodcarving artist came to Taiwan because of love. His woodworks have raised the art and culture community’s attention with their international perspective and multi-racial inclusion. They have combined Taiwanese traditional culture and caused a sensation in the most renowned WWD International Woodcarving Show. Made’s Taiwanese-culture-like woodworks have not only received many praises in Canada and Indonesia international woodcarving exhibition, but also the international woodcarving art community.
In the international woodcarving communities, Made makes himself known with his woodworks which have combined with Taiwanese culture. Taiwan’s art community has its eyes on Made as well. Made is constantly invited to exhibitions in these two years. Made said, “Art has no boundaries, but Taiwan has given my woodworks the most important soul.” Because of love, Made uses woodcarving to let the world notice Taiwan.
