Inspired by the concept of eroding freedom, a joint exhibition featuring four Taiwanese visual artists - Chen Po-i (陳伯義), Lin Yu-en (林佑恩), Teng Chao-ming (鄧兆旻), and Wu Chi-yu (吳其育) - will kick off in Manhattan from Dec. 3 through 30.
The curatorial theme of this exhibition is centered on how human freedom has been distorted by economic and political mechanisms as multinational corporations come to dominance. Oppression, however, breeds a greater force of resistance through contemporary arts.
Chen is a photographer who uses his lens to amplify the human and social context of Taiwanese society; Lin explores issues in urban communities and collective memories through his photographic practice; Teng narrates the many stories of a nation-state still struggling with its identity; and Wu documents contemporary detachment from historic truths and communal welfare.
Curated by Hsu Fong-ray (許峰瑞), the exhibition includes photographs depicting factories and houses that have fallen in disuse after Hongmao Harbor (紅毛港) was closed down, as well as videos of a lonely Tudigong Temple that remains after its village was mowed down to make way for a national transportation project.
Another photography series, titled "The Bags of Cement We Received in Exchange for Our Home and Farmland,” is equally bleak in its depiction of how industrial expansion takes precedence over environmental and social needs.
By alluding to possible worse outcomes in our future, "For a Better Tomorrow” is a manifestation of democratic ideas and an emancipation of the artistic domain, deepening the role of arts as a medium for disseminating knowledge and initiating public discourse.
‘For a Better Tomorrow'