Artist’s Statement

 

I am interested in the experience of a process. Issues I have been involved with are the struggles with spatial (geographical and mental), temporal and cultural crossing. Coming from Taiwan and having lived in the UK for seven years, I consider myself self-exiled and I have difficulties in pinning down myself in a clear position. I am confused and unbalanced between speaking Taiwanese and speaking English, between being Taiwanese and being British, and between staying with sweet memory and staying in the promising but challenging reality. Considering these confusions as gaps, I do not read them as dead ends but potential openings. By exploring various gaps, my journey of travelling between Taiwan and the UK is gradually mapped out.

Media I employ are combined with bookwork, performance, audio and video. They are my ideal means to express temporal and spatial transitions. I often make installations to immerse myself and then I perform within the environment.

 

Tsai-Wei Chen

Oct. 2002