Taiwan Uncovered

For today's episode of Uncovered, I continue my conversation with the winner of this year's Best Short Film Jury Award at Sundance Film Festival Asia, An Chu. In this episode, we speak about An's journey to filmmaking, his inspirations, and what draws him to film as a medium.  You can watch An's winning short film Tuo Tuo (陀陀) here. Follow An on Instagram here.

Sundance Film Festival Asia came to Taipei this August. In today's episode of Uncovered, I speak to An Chu, the winner of this year's short film competition. An's winning piece, Tuo Tuo (陀陀), centers around the protagonist, Hai, who returns to help out at his family deer farm while he's on break from military service. What's An's connection with deer farming? What does An share with the protagonist? Was An seeking to criticize deer farming with his piece? All this and more from the director himself, so hit play! You can watch An's winning short film here. Follow An on Instagram here.

How do Teresa Teng's fans honor her memory to this day? How will this memory live on? In today's episode, I continue my conversation with Columbia University postgraduate student, Kaitlin Hao, who is carrying out research on Teresa Teng and her fans. Hit play to hear more about the stories of Teresa's fans and the significance she has to them.  If you want to find out more about this research, you can follow Kaitlin's TikTok account @happyendingmessage which teaches East Asian art history and media studies.

Despite having passed away over 25 years ago, pop icon Teresa Teng (鄧麗君) still has an active fanbase all over the world.  Many of those fans flock to her memorial park in New Taipei City annually on May 8, to pay their respects on the anniversary of her death.  In today's episode, I am joined by Columbia University postgraduate student, Kaitlin Hao who is carrying out research on the singer and her fans. Hit play to hear us discuss Teresa's life, her music, and how she is commemorated not just in Taiwan, but all over the world.  You can follow Kaitlin's TikTok account @happyendingmessage here, which teaches East Asian art history and media studies.

Today I will be bringing you part 2 of my interview with sculptor and multimedia artist, Ni Hao.  How does the constantly changing digital world influence art? How do geopolitical tensions affect the art landscape in Taiwan? Is art, as a field, respected in Taiwan? We'll be getting into all that and more in this episode, so hit play! You can check out Ni Hao's Instagram here and website here. 

Today’s guest on Uncovered is sculptor and multimedia artist, Ni Hao. Ni Hao received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. His work often focuses on reworking familiar, ordinary, and everyday objects which alludes to social commentary or provokes personal memories.  Ni Hao’s work has been exhibited and featured all over the world, from Taipei to Rome, Shanghai, Beijing, Basel, LA, Chicago, and Berlin. Hit play to hear how Ni Hao ended up back in Taiwan, how he defines sculpture, and how he intends for his art to be consumed. You can check out Ni Hao's Instagram here and website here. 

In part two of my interview with Ukrainian artist, sound producer, and researcher Mariana Savchenko, we continue our discussion of the exhibition ‘When Temporary Becomes the Ordinary: _/_ Days of War for Ukrainian Women’. In this episode Mariana shares her experience of relistening to audio memories that she recorded following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how Taiwan is standing with Ukraine.  The exhibition is showing until November 21 2023. 

Today’s guest is Mariana Savchenko. Mariana is a performance artist, sound producer, and researcher. She recently co-curated the exhibition ‘When Temporary Becomes the Ordinary: _/_ Days of War for Ukrainian Women’ at the National Human Rights Museum in New Taipei. Mariana’s performance piece 'Inner Shelter' was also featured as part of the exhibition, which drew on her own personal memories of war. In this episode, Mariana discusses her experience as a Ukranian living in Taiwan, what we can expect from the exhibition, and the significance of sharing the stories of Ukranian women.  The exhibition is showing until November 21 2023. 

Today I will be bringing you part 2 of my interview with underwater photographer, Wesley Oosthuizen. In this episode, we discuss the best diving spots in Taiwan, cute sea slugs, and the state of pollution in Taiwan.  Want to see more of Wesley's photographs? Check out Wesley's photography Facebook page and Instagram.  (Photo: Wesley Oosthuizen)

Today's guest on Uncovered is underwater photographer, Wesley Oosthuizen. With years of diving experience under his belt, Wesley dives off of Taiwan's coasts to capture fascinating underwater macro-organisms. His photographs open your eyes to the marine life that you had no idea existed. In this episode, we discuss how Wesley got into this field, the preparations that have to be taken before a dive, and the beautiful organisms he has captured.  Want to see more of Wesley's photographs? Check out Wesley's photography Facebook page and Instagram.  (Photo: Wesley Oosthuizen)