New York Performa 2019 Biennial features five contemporary Taiwan artists and their conceptual multimedia works, throughout New York and until Nov. 24.
Performa, an international organization dedicated to live performance by visual artists, announced the additional commissions and Pavilions Without Walls program at the art festival. It intends to mark Bauhaus' centenary with a series of interdisciplinary programs, including architecture, dance, and film.
In addition, Performa’s renowned Pavilions Without Walls program will showcase diverse and vibrant work from Taiwanese and Swedish artists. A Performa statement said: "The Pavilions aim to reflect the social, geographical and political landscapes of each country, and to present the work of emerging and established artists to the New York arts community and the public at large.”
The Taiwan Pavilion was curated in collaboration with Taipei Fine Arts Museum and C-Lab, and features five artists focused on cross-disciplinary practices. The exhibitors include Chou Yu-cheng (周育正), Su Hui-yu (蘇匯宇), Yu Cheng-ta (余政達), Huang Po-chih (黃博志), and Shu Lea Cheang (鄭淑麗).
Performa said the tech pioneer, Cheang, who is representing Taiwan at the ongoing Venice Biennale, will present "SLEEP1237." During the performance, participants will be read to sleep, following a screening and public discussion of the artist's early work.
Performa said Chou and Huang use conceptual installations to discuss immigrant and labor issues. Chou explores systems of labor, exchange, and trade in New York’s Financial District, by tracking the movements of distributed goods. Huang, meanwhile, portrays the story of Song Yang, a Chinese immigrant and sex worker who committed suicide in Flushing, Queens, in 2017.
The video artist Yu examines the phenomenon of social media celebrity, with a virtual character called "Fameme" (法咪咪), in order to consider cultural stereotypes. The project is scheduled to be performed at Times Square on Nov. 21, CNA reported.
Meanwhile, in collaboration with the experimental Taiwan theater group, Critical Point Theatre Phenomenon, film director Su will present his first live theatrical work, “The White Waters” (白水). It is a reinvention of Taiwan’s first openly gay and HIV-positive student Tian Qiyuan’s (田啟元) production of "White Snake," a classic legend that originates in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
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Source：Taiwan News
