Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara has launched a 10-year touring exhibition in Taiwan titled Traveling with a Hazy and Humid Day. The fifth stop of the tour is held in Xingang Township, Chiayi County, with the exhibition opening recently at Warehouse No. 25 of the Xingang Cultural Center. Co-organized by the General Association of Chinese Culture, the Yoshitomo Nara Foundation, the Chiayi County Government, and the Chiayi County Culture and Tourism Bureau, the exhibition features 72 works including paintings, sketches, photography, and ceramics, spanning Nara's early creations, works produced during his quarantine period, and several large-scale paintings.
The artwork “Withered Flower (2020 Version)” is unveiled in Taiwan for the first time, with Chiayi marking its global debut. (Photo courtesy of Chiayi County Government)
One of the major highlights is Withered Flower (2020 Version), a re-creation based on the original 1994 work. This piece is being publicly exhibited in Taiwan for the first time, with Chiayi becoming its first-ever debut location worldwide. The exhibition space also incorporates elements of Chiayi's natural landscape, blending Nara's iconic girl imagery with the dusk cloud seas of Alishan to reflect the region's distinctive character.
Nara noted that he grew up in Aomori, Japan, an area rooted in agriculture similar to Chiayi. He therefore chose a warehouse with agricultural symbolism as the exhibition venue, hoping the quiet spatial arrangement would allow visitors to engage in one-on-one dialogue with the artworks. The exhibition runs until May 17, 2026, and is open by online reservation.
