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Mush discussion has incurred due to the news reports about the upcoming Non- Freedom of Expression at MOCA Taipei in April 2020. The museum plans to invite and restage the exhibition in April, but the specific discussion with the Japanese curatorial organization about the artworks is still ongoing. More information about the exhibition content will be announced on the museum website.
The exhibition, After Freedom of Expression, was originally part of the 2019 Aichi Triennale, which investigated “whether self-censorship would change as time move forward and ideologies evolved” and hoped to encourage re-thinking about facts that have been overlooked or concealed. The exhibition was, however, shut down three days after its opening due to protests and threats about the contents of a few artworks, including a maiden statue symbolizing the young comfort women and a video containing the burning image of Emperor Hirohito’s portrait. The incident incited heated debate and discussion within the Japanese society; and although limited viewing was afterwards allowed near the end of the exhibition, it has already led to widespread discussion among the international and art communities.
As a “contemporary art” museum, MOCA Taipei prides itself on responding to social issues, leading thinking trends, facilitating introspection while creating a platform of art for diverse perspectives and ideas to be fully discussed, understood and heard. Taiwan, ranked the highest in political rights and civil liberties, enjoys a high level of freedom in terms of speech, journalism and assembly, and is the only one rated “open” among the 25 Asian countries in the survey. Cherishing the precious, hard-earned democratic freedom, we also shoulder the responsibility to examine ourselves introspectively and employ artistic approaches to initiate discussion and dialogue. Therefore, for the museum to host the exhibition, we have not only been consistently communicating with the Japanese organization to select the artworks with circumspection, but also planning to organize lectures and workshops to engage a wider audience and the public.
We appreciate the attention to the museum’s exhibition planning from all sectors. It has been a common practice for MOCA Taipei to adopt artistic methods to pose questions and generate responses when facing variegated contemporary social issues. Upholding our original intention, we hope to free Non- Freedom of Expression from its original context by re-contextualizing it within the exploration about the issue of “censorship” in Taiwan, making it an introduction and invitation for contemplating on Taiwan through others’ examples to further examine the evolving spectrum of our society. In the meantime, diverse perspectives are also very welcomed in this public discussion.