Art Taipei

Billed as the best art expo in the Far East, Art Taipei 2008 delivered on beauty, intrigue and new ideas. It's laissez faire approach to photography was also a surprised. I was able to photograph most of the exhibits with no hassle. Only a few of the exhibits were off limits to photographers.

I spent most of my time photographing the exhibits but I did stop a few times to talk to artists or gallery representatives.

Vincent, of Non Gallery (English name? but here's the link http://www.loranger.com.tw/), explained their artist's idea was to replace meat with human 'meat' and to provoke discussion on the treatment of animals. The butcher's stand and the baby platter worked well and people were indeed curious, if slightly disturbed by the images.

Ian Findlay-Brown of Asian Art News and World Sculpture News, thought business was slow despite the crowds. Though the paintings were not at Art Taipei, his assistant was excited by an exhibit of Laotian painting in Singapore.

Chang En Tzu stitch work series on Snow White presented what could be a modern day contradiction towards sex. Where woman/girls try to achieve an ideal image only to be unsure and unhappy of the reaction it provokes in the opposite sex. Unfortunately, my Britishness, (my inability to talk frankly about sex) didn't reveal any insights from the artist about the meaning of her works. Visit her blog http://changen-tzu.blogspot.com/

Other works of note, (sorry, I didn't record the names of the artists) included a man, who attached blood capsules over his body, which he exploded by remote control. His work included a video and photographs. Another crowd drawer was carvings of a boy and girl out of wood. Despite being slight in depth, these carvings had an extraordinary 3D effect and looked very life like. There were quite a few works that created movement and life likeness through 3D trickery.

Another crowd favourite (at least in numbers) was the use of pornagraphic models that had their heads replaced by famous people. One photograph, had the Venezuelian president, Chavez, dogging Condoleeza Rice, whilst the Iranian president sat and smiled. Other stars of this series included Bush, Osama Bin Laden, Princess Diana and the Queen, Hilary Clinton and the cast of Harry Potter.