Labay Eyong (b. 1982) is a member of the Truku village, called Ihownang, in Wanrong Township, Hualien County. She has always disliked constraints and systematic frameworks. After graduating college with a major in metal art, she travelled to Spain and explored the potentiality of experimental temporary space. She places physical senses before rational thinking and escapes two-dimensional limitations. According to the artist herself, “I have to work with my hands first to feel the materials and slowly build the work. I have never done preliminary drawings because they are deceitful. My work is organic, like endless layers upon layers.” Following her mind to explore weaving and a combination of heterogeneous materials, Labay Eyong has inherited the traditional weaving culture of the Truku people and incorporated her gratitude for the inspiration from female elder weavers in her community. She combines metal work techniques with mixed media, such as fibers, and the art form of video installation to create her works, which are mainly soft sculptures that tend to delineate one subject at a time from various perspectives. Her works engage viewers in issues about identity, bodily actions, women and the environment.
Huang Jin-Cheng was born in Yilan, Taiwan. He graduated from the Department of Applied Arts, Fu Jen Catholic University. He now lives and works in Jian, Hualien.
Malay Makazuwan was born in Hualien, Taiwan. She graduated from the Department of Ethnic Relations and Cultures, College of Indigenous Studies, National Dong Hwa University. She now lives and works in Jian, Hualien.
Pakavulay is formed by Malay•Makazuwan and Huang Jin-Cheng. In the Puyuma language, it means "to make things beautiful and wonderful." The artist collective often employs ready-made objects and natural materials to combine with or respond to imagery of their tribe's oral mythology. Their work emphasizes on the inheritance of their tribal culture and the possibility to create, and by doing so, highlights the modern circumstances of Taiwanese indigenous peoples.
Silvia Piantini (1986-) was born in Toscana, Italy, and works as a fashion accessory designer specializing in jewelry design. She is particularly interested in traditional handicrafts, lost artistry, traditional clothing, Traditional music, and music instrument.
Giacomo Zaganelli (1983-) was born in Florence, Italy, and now lives in Italy and Berlin. His work ranges from art, architecture, and public art installation for spaces. He hopes to provide an "unconventional" perspective to look at daily life. His work and research focus on the relationship between time and space, showing his belief in the fact that the value of art comes from its historical depth, which is informed by thoughts on the past, present and future.
Noticing the fading of the tribal culture, Amis artist Tseng, Yi-wen boldly attempts to search for the source of her mother culture, determined to transform the abstract experience, silent but moving spirits, and collective memories that originate from everyday life and form vivid life forces, into totems through readability of visual language. Tseng hopes to touch and encourage the viewer to contemplate and understand the guidance within local traditional and historical context, using it as the foundation of interpretation, finally creating new contemporary appearances.
Tommaso Muzzi is an artist from Foligno Italy who completed his degree in film making in Italy and Spain. Muzzi is a director who focuses on shooting experimental documentaries with a storyline. In 2009 and 2015, Muzzi was invited to be an artist-in-residence in Hualien and Toucheng, Yilan. The artist is currently living in Hualien, Taiwan.
“Corner Art Group” is a contemporary art group from Hualien that was established in 2014 by a bunch of students and teachers from National Dong Hwa University who have a deep passion for art. The “Corner Art Group” arranged the Dong Hwa Corner Art Festival, which later became a unique annual event throughout campus. This artistic combination is spontaneously made up of a group of art enthusiasts who have a common interest towards alternative performance spaces and interdisciplinary art experiments. The members of the group come from all sorts of departments including Art and Design, Arts and Creative Industries, Sinophone Literatures, and History. The members gather together regularly for discussions and engage in group exhibitions and all sorts of different interdisciplinary experiments. Discussion topics focus on campus politics and environmental, cultural, gender, and race issues in East Taiwan. “Corner Art Group” hopes to provide an opportunity for discussion about issues concerning East Taiwan that are discovered through artistic performances and display.
Artists:
Gheorghi Filin
Yang, Cheng-Duan
Wu, Ming-Sheng
Goran Čpajak
Knut Steen
Liu, Shun-Tian
Chang, Nai-Wun
Moshe Perelman
Nicolas Bertoux
Joseph Visy
Yu, Tsung-Chieh
Cheng, Ting-Chen
Piero Gensini
Hu, Tung-Ming
Karin Van Ommeren
Hitoshi Tanaka
Stephen Woodward
英國布萊敦大學藝術創作博士,現為國立東華大學藝術與設計學系專任副教授。創作媒材主要以攝影與錄像為主,藝術創作長期聚焦在鄉愁此一主題上,探討個人離開「家」之後,對於土地和親人的思念,而近年開始探索自我的童年,回到故鄉挖掘孩時的記憶。自2011年開始對鏡中世界產生好奇心,因此成為創作素材的一部分。在這些創作轉折中,從沈重的鄉愁氛圍,轉化為一種詼諧的遊戲,就如回到童年一般的玩耍,以此方式作為另類的鄉愁主題再現。
Idas Losin is an artist from Truku who specializes in oil painting. Transforming the totem weave pattern from her culture through minimalist designs, added with simple colors and layers using bold, confident techniques, Idas Losin creates surreal works that are simple and remind the viewer of collages. Apart from displaying elements of the image and initial structure of symbol’s, the works of Idas Losin are also an extension of the determined vitality of the indigenous people.
Watan Tusi, a Taroko artist from the Swasal Tribe in Zhuoxi Township, Hualien, inherited the name of his great-grandfather and his father. Watan Tusi moved to Taipei with his parents at a young age. In 1997, at a performance by the Formosa Aboriginal Song and Dance Troupe, Watan Tusi felt a calling from the ancient songs and plunged into the world of traditional indigenous song and dance. Watan Tusi founded the “TAI Body Theatre” in 2012 and conducted field collection in tribes, collecting the songs and dances of the older generation. Apart from promoting tradition, “TAI Body Theatre” also creates a new form of indigenous theater on the foundation of theater creation. The themes of his works include survival, the environment, culture, and literature. Choreography works include Humming of the Body, Tjakudayi: How Should I Say I Love You, Dancing Under the Bridge, The Path of Water, and Weaving X Our Steps.
Eleng Luluan (1968-), whose Chinese name is An Sheng-Hui, was born in Pingtung, Taiwan. She is a member of an artist community in Taitung, called Floated Tribe. She specializes in using driftwood and plant fiber to create sculpture, installation, and land art. Her work shows her self-pursuit and reflection of the land, fully embodying the artistic spirit of using natural materials and learning from nature and demonstrating limitless tension and power.