Tag: Arts

  • Taichung Escape

    Taichung Escape

    Since we will both be travelling a fair bit in the near future, Nikki and I decided to make a break for the border and head down for a weekend away in Taichung – Taiwan’s second city.  The bigger spaces, cleaner air, better weather and more relaxed pace makes for a good get-away location.  That, and being able to sample some of the crazy hotels that the hotel is famous for.

    Browsing the shops in the nightmarkets of Taichung is never anything less than a visual overload – and a pleasure.  Hello Kitty kitsch is so stunningly ubiquitous as to slowly become invisible.  Miffy stuff, however, seems to have fallen completely out of favour.  Ah, the whims of the Taiwanese cute collector.

    An Aladdin’s Cave of cuteness

    I wish I had bought this sleeping mask now … it would be perfect for the flight back!

    Doggy and kitty fashion by the boatload

    High-speed Takoyaki restaurant, with its own custom oil sucker-upper … pretty sure they shouldn’t need that much oil, but I guess that’s how they come here.

    I am constantly amused by the legs descending from the sky in Taiwanese night markets.

    Nikki in the Museum of Fine Arts – Taichung

    Watching the clouds, skies, and kites on the grass … people don’t lie on the grass much in Taiwan!

    Reflecting on things #1

    Reflecting on things #2

    Waiting for the HSR back to Taipei.

    Exit Through The Gift Shop

  • Taipei Biennial 2010

    Misgivings about the limited arts scene in Taiwan always evaporate when the Biennial sets up shop; the curators are clearly highly adept at collecting a thought-provoking selection of work.  This year’s, while seemingly smaller than in the past, none-the-less tackled some spicy political subjects, not least directly criticising the Flora Expo being held on its doorstep.  It didn’t pull any punches in illustrating the number of trees killed as a result of the construction work outside.  Anyway, some quick images:

    Building site for the Flora Expo next to the Art Museum.

    Preparation for the Flora expo proceeding as planned.

    Aggressive wall murals at the Biennial

    Map of the damaged or destroyed trees that made way for the Floral Expo.

    When I walked past this on the way in, I just thought it was a Bali-style bust of a religious figure.  Coming out of the exhibition, I was pleasantly surprised to see a stack of Yellow Pages!  It’s these little surprises that I appreciate, even if they are slightly gimmicky.

    This room had a set of rotating discs, and alternated having lights on or off, creating shadows and glowing … impossible to sum up in a photo.  Anyway.

    I was extremely taken with this infinite picture frame.

    Double hat.  Tres chic.

    Hanging at an angle.