Taiwanese crafts are once again taking part in the UK's largest celebration of craft culture, which takes over London for one week every year. Taking extra precautions due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the festival date has been moved from April 27-May 3 to Sept. 30-Oct. 8. Three artisans will travel to the UK to showcase Taiwan's contemporary lacquer arts and metalwork.
In Taiwan, crafts have long been considered a traditional cultural practice, undertaken exclusively by legendary masters who produce crafts revered by society as works of art. Not content with this stereotype however, a new generation of innovative Taiwanese craftspeople has been breaking away from tradition to rediscover and redefine the essence of crafts in Taiwanese society. Not only are they revitalizing the design and process of craft-making, but they are facilitating crafts to become a functional and practical part of contemporary life in Taiwan.
Although their craft-making skills remain faithful to that of their predecessors, these young Taiwanese craft-makers are setting themselves apart from long-established doctrines of creation by experimenting with new media and forms, allowing them to not just explore the functionality of craft, but fill their works with personality that express their unique life philosophies.
In order to highlight how young Taiwanese craftspeople are challenging the ordinary and embodying their creativity and artistic philosophies in the worlds of lacquer art and metalwork, the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan is bringing the artworks of Yi Yo-an, Lee Chi-hong and Wu Ching-chih to be showcased in London Craft Week 2020. These three young craftspeople are being cultivated and supported by the National Taiwan Craft Research & Development Institute.
Meet the Artisans
Yi Yu-an: Independent from Taiwan's long succession of Japanese skills and aesthetics, Yi's lacquer works defy traditions through her use of bright colors, various finishes, and playful ideas. Most of her works celebrate her childhood memories; for example, the series of "Colorful Taiwanese Toys" has won her wide applause. Her current project, "Desserts," represents her girlish favorites and a hope to make all desserts here to stay.
Lee Chi-hong: Lee was once a graphic design student who eventually found his pleasure and inspiration from lacquer arts. Rather than relying on wood, ceramics, and bamboo as bases for lacquerware, Lee chooses paper for his works and is blazing a trail in Taiwan's lacquerware-making scene. Foldable, sturdy, and highly decorative, Lee's waterproof paper lacquerware can serve as containers, wine cups, pins, and wall decorations, diversifying further the form and the use of lacquer art.
Wu Ching-chih: Wu is an interdisciplinary artist focusing on metalwork, sculpture, and enamel jewelry design. With sophisticated skills shaping and refining his works, Wu uses crafts to interpret the relations between audience members and their relationship with world around us. He proceed his creative process quite differently from the usual by assigning the shapes or functions of his works according to what he believes is the best way to express his thoughts.
Read the original press release by the Cultural Division in the UK:
https://www.taiwanculture-uk.org/events/2020/9/30/transcending-boundaries-contemporary-lacquer-art-amp-metalwork-in-taiwannbsp