The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States and the Taiwan Fine Arts Foundation, more commonly known as Art Bank Taiwan, have co-organized a new exhibition titled “Nature Matters,” which opened Friday, Aug. 12, and will run through July 2023. The project is sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Eight Taiwanese artists specializing in modern art were invited to contribute.
Ambassador Bi-khim Hsiao said that this is the second time TECRO has cooperated with Art Bank Taiwan during her term of service. Last year's exhibition, “From the Island: Mountains, Land and Oceans,” emphasized the beautiful landscape of Taiwan. This year, “Nature Matters” is intended to encourage people to take notice of the earth's environmental crisis and take action to protect the planet.
Amis artist Yosifu Kacaw said he was very happy to come to Washington, D.C. The exhibition, Kacaw said, will lead the public to pay more attention to environmental issues and serve as part of the Taiwanese people’s voice to the world.
Kevin Uy from the Taiwan Fine Arts Foundation said that “Nature Matters” offers diverse ways to look at the environment we inhabit, including through straightforward questioning, representation of phenomena, emotional connections with the land and positivity created by taking a different perspective. Nature is also where many artists find their inspiration and commitment. The exhibition presents multiple artistic approaches to the environment through 11 artworks.
This year, the exhibition focuses more on human beings’ religious attitudes towards nature — particularly worship, love and gratitude. It highlights the positive environmental and social impact brought by sincere introspection and action. Focusing on human-environment relationships, Sophie Chang’s creative efforts, for example, are intertwined with her social service and a religion-inspired view on the cycle of life and nature. Meanwhile, Ya-hsin Hsiao connects nature, space and the environment in her artistic observation of nature. By depicting the landscape above and beneath the earth, her projects shed light on the cycle of life composed of soil, organisms, sunlight and water.
Other artists document what they see to keep track of changes in our natural environment. Their records are reminders of an issue that should not be overlooked: how natural scenery is increasingly being replaced by artificial landscapes. The images of seemingly ordinary landscapes in Goang-ming Yuan’s works point out the conundrums between energy policies, nuclear power issues, and the environment. Shun-fa Yang’s poetic portrayal of landscapes captures the harsh reality of land subsidence along the coast of southwest Taiwan. Chih-hang Lin’s art, created with recycled wood, embodies the ideas of resource recycling and sustainability while reexamining the interconnections between the environment, objects and human beings.
Artists’ creative efforts may also be a tribute to nature, highlighting human dependence on and respect for it. Rooted in indigenous people’s culture of human-nature coexistence, their arts are an introspective and hopeful look at environmental issues. Iyo Kacaw gives a new life to driftwood collected from beaches, turning it into insightful art pieces about the marine environment and economic development in his hometown. In his highly identifiable and vibrant style, Yosifu explores issues such as natural living environments and cultural identities. Looking into his people’s culture, Idas Losin’s art raises concerns about the environment and advocates for land justice.
It is our hope that these Taiwanese pieces may remind you of the beauty of our environment and how important it is for us to protect it.
Booklet of the exhibition (attached with the audio-guide’s Qr code):
