Supported by the Cultural Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Sydney, Taiwanese artists Eleng Luluan (安聖惠) and Zhang Xu-zhan (張徐展) are featured at the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT11), which was launched by the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) on Nov. 30.
Held on Nov. 29, the triennial’s opening event was attended by the two featured artists, Director-General William Hou-lu Fan (范厚祿) of the TECO in Brisbane, and Chen Chih-i (陳芝儀), head of the Cultural Division of the TECO in Sydney.
Created from waste materials such as fishing nets and coffee sacks, Eleng Luluan’s large-scale installation “Sin ka nadruma, Kay paka balribalrthi, Kay apa pelaela, Ku ki dredreme (The Immutable Spiritual Beliefs)” incorporates the Rukai concept of “wabacabacas,” meaning “the movement of the hand embodies thoughts, beliefs, history and culture.”
Depicting a satellite image of Typhoon Koinu as it swept Taiwan in 2023, the installation, a tapestry woven with ancient weaving techniques, features QR codes that link to talks with indigenous organizations and artists, trying to explore the past of Indigenous Taiwanese peoples and the impact of globalization. Eleng Luluan’s art piece showcases rich Indigenous cultures nurtured by the island, which has frequently suffered from natural disasters and geopolitical storms.
Meanwhile, artist Zhang Xu-zhan presents paper puppets and models used in his stop-motion animation “Compound Eyes of Tropical (熱帶複眼)” at the APT11. Inspired by the traditional Taiwanese paper art known as “zhizha (紙紮)” and parade performances (藝陣), the animation reinterprets the Southeast Asian folk story of “The Mouse-deer Crosses the River (鼠鹿過河),” and delves into the global essence of local culture through the unique perspective of a fly’s compound eyes.
The triennial is open until Apr. 27, 2025. For more information, visit the QAGOMA’s official website.