Chinese ︎
Wang Yahui, born in 1973
raised in New
Taipei City, Taiwan. Her family worked in hardware trading. Her family consists
of her parents, an older sister, and a younger brother.
Yahui showed traits of seriousness and high self-demand from a young age. After completing her primary and junior high school education in Xinzhuang District, New Taipei City, she successfully gained admission to Taipei First Girls High School, one of Taiwan's most prestigious schools. Despite the intense pressure of the educational environment, Yahui excelled academically and was admitted to the Department of Law at National Taiwan University. However, during her university years, she gradually realized her lack of interest in law. Consequently, she decisively took a break from her studies after discussing with her family and planned to reapply to the Department of Fine Arts at National Taiwan Normal University, meanwhile enrolling in private art classes. Notably, before her break from university, Yahui had no experience in painting nor had she received any formal art training. Despite her initial modest performance in art, her exceptional academic achievements facilitated her admission into the Fine Arts Department at National Taiwan Normal University. During her college years, Yahui primarily focused on oil painting.
In 1998,
shortly after her graduation, Yahui decided to study abroad in France for a short period. In Paris, she was inspired by numerous art pieces and started creating oil paintings of green bags, which later became her portfolio for admission into the first cohort of the Graduate Institute of Technology and Art (later renamed as the Graduate Institute of New Media Art) at the National Taipei University of the Arts.
In 2000,
as part of the teacher training program, Yahui spent a year as a trainee teacher at Guanshan Junior High School in Taitung, Taiwan. This period was a novel experience in nature for someone who grew up in the city. Reflecting on this time during a 2021 interview, Yahui shared, "Teaching in Taitung rekindled my childhood curiosity and awe for nature. I've always been like a scientist, curious about the essence of things, and this curiosity has grown with me." Her artistic experiences in Paris sparked her exploration in art creation, while her time in Taitung reinvigorated her unique observation skills of the external world and landscapes. She bought her first camera, started capturing clouds in the sky, and developed a deep interest in photographic art. From then on, Yahui viewed life as her canvas, observing the world with keen sensitivity and transforming these firsthand observations into art.
In 2001,
Yahui was invited to participate in a group exhibition at the New Paradise, an important alternative art space in Taiwan's 90s, established by a group of artists in 1995. That same year, she joined the Audio-Visual Creation group of the Graduate Institute of New Media Art at Taipei National University of the Arts, led by Professor Yuan Guangming, and met curator Wang Pin Hua, forging a friendship that lasted over two decades. Professor Yuan's teaching focused on video art, encouraging students to watch a vast array of works by international contemporary artists and to ponder the nature of imagery. This educational environment subtly influenced Yahui's creative approach. Over the following decades, she experimented with various methods, attempting to capture the imagery in her mind and bring it to life in the real world.In 2002,
Yahui created the piece "Fall" as part of her New Media course at Taipei National University of the Arts and won the Taipei Art Award. This work, filmed at the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, underwent video editing to make the motion trajectories of objects defy real-world physics, creating a dreamlike spatial experience. By this time, not yet 30, she had already gained significant recognition in Taiwan's new media field.
Curator Wang Pin Hua commented, "Since her video installation works began in 2002, Yahui's creations have always engaged in an intimate dialogue with the physical space of the exhibition venues. The reinterpretation of 'space' is the first major theme in her works." Subsequently, her work "Gap" was featured in the Taipei Fine Arts Museum Biennial, co-curated by Bartomeu Marí and Chia Chi Jason Wang. This piece was also included in the permanent collection of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. Since then, Yahui has participated in a series of important exhibitions in the history of Taiwan's new media art, curated by Chia Chi Jason Wang.
In 2003,
at the age of 30, Yahui participated in the group exhibition “Simulation: The Poetics of Imaging in the Technology Age”, at Hong-Gah Museum, Taipei, curated by Chia Chi Jason Wang, as well as group exhibitions at the Eslite Gallery in Taipei and the Seoul Museum of Art in Korea. This marked her first participation in an international exhibition.In 2004,
Yahui earned her Master's degree from the Graduate Institute of New Media Art at Taipei National University of the Arts. In her thesis, she clearly articulated her creative approach: "My works represent a sort of lucid daydreaming. With open eyes, I see unusual scenes; when I turn around, the world remains as I know it. The space and time in the images are familiar yet strange, as if sliding from here to there, but not leading to a vanished or nonexistent reality. They are an experience, a reality in themselves. Hence, in my works, the images alter their conventional relations, giving rise to new possibilities. This reorganization of perceptual experience creates a flow, and this movement and transformation process is the main concept in my works." From her early self-description, it's evident that she has always experimented with imagery to create a 'space' similar to, yet distinct from, reality, projecting this illusory space into the visual and psychological experiences of the audience. This focus is central to her creations. During her graduation period, she held a solo exhibition titled "Drifting Places" at IT Park, a representative alternative space in Taiwan.
In 2005,
she created a large-scale immersive video installation titled "Sunshine on Tranquility" which was projected onto a wall with apparent gaps, as if suggesting the presence of another space. The quietly placed flower pot and its shadow subtly implied that the movement within this dynamic space might not be real. The piece was composed of various models and was featured in “Variation Xanadu”, curated by Chia Chi Jason Wang at the Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, and later acquired by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.
During the same period, Yahui was recognized with the Yageo Tech-Art Award in Taiwan. This award, established in collaboration between the Yageo Foundation and the Asia Cultural Council (ACC), sponsors one Taiwanese artist annually for a residency at Location One in New York. At this time, she also began her doctoral studies at Tainan National University of the Arts and took a break after qualifying as a candidate.
In 2006,
Yahui went to New York's Location One. The ACC’s Executive Director in Taiwan, Yuan Chien Rita Chang, recalled interviewing Yahui, saying, "Yahui's works represent something pure and not of this reality, as she has always been in dialogue with her own spiritual world and creation." She was also invited to participate in the Shanghai Biennale.In 2007,
Yahui created the video work "Visitor," filmed at her grandparents' house with a small cloud digitally added to the footage. This slowly drifting cloud, like a visitor, revisits the home of her childhood, creating a sensitive, playful, and imaginative poetic work. That same year, she collaborated with Galerie Grand Siècle to release her solo exhibition "I've been here before and will come again." Under Galerie Grand Siècle's guidance, Yahui won the Loop Award for Best Gallery Work and Presentation at the Spanish Video Art Fair. Galerie Grand Siècle became her first official gallery representation. She then went on a residency to the Cité Internationale des Arts in France.
In 2008,
Yahui moved to the newly developed city of Linkou District in New Taipei City. She witnessed the transformation of the land from wilderness to urbanization, shifting her imagery to reflect on the relationship between nature and man-made objects. She created a series of works using readymade objects, including "The tropical Work: snowman" and "Two Billion Light Years of Solitude." "The tropical work: Snowman" records Yahui sculpting a snowman, an unlikely figure in subtropical Taiwan, placed by the roadside to capture reactions and its gradual melting. This work was exhibited at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in the solo exhibition "The tropical work: Snowman" and was also acquired by the museum. "Two Billion Light Years of Solitude" likens city lights to constellations in the night sky, filled with romantic associations. The same year, she held a solo exhibition "Rainbow and Bow" at Xin Yuan Art and participated in film exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Netherlands.In 2010,
Yahui traveled to Helsinki, Finland, for an artist residency. The natural landscape of Finland deeply moved her. During this time, she began recording her thoughts on other contemporary artists and their creations. She observed, "After returning from Finland and looking at my own living environment, it seemed that natural and man-made things were merging together, blurring the lines between them." That same year, she participated in the 7th Taipei Biennial and joined the Roppongi Art Night in Tokyo.
In 2011,
Yahui's contemplation of nature led her to further explore Eastern philosophy. Along with her curator friend Wang Pin Hua, she delved into the aesthetics of simplicity as taught by Fabian Heubel during their doctoral studies at Tainan National University of the Arts. This study was inspired by Michel Foucault's late concept of 'technologies of the self,' exploring the Eastern philosophy and aesthetics of 'Self-cultivation.' In the same year, Yahui and Pin Hua went hiking together, an adventure that led her to meet her future husband, Liu Hsing I, an artist and traditional Chinese medicine physician.In 2012,
Yahui held a solo exhibition "Pick up a leaf when it falls" at Tomio Koyama Gallery in Kyoto, Japan, showcasing her "Leaf Hole" series. Later, she collaborated with TKG+ for the exhibition "Near and Far," examining the relativity of objects and the concept of viewing as a form of relativity. Yahui stated, "Images are manufactured. These manufactured images, in turn, become our way of seeing." In this exhibition, she reinterpreted everyday objects in different ways, allowing viewers to see them from new perspectives, and explored the theme of 'how we observe nature' and the use of imaging technology to uncover the gaps in human viewing habits.
In 2013,
at the age of 40, Yahui married Liu Hsing I. Liu, both an artist and a traditional Chinese medicine physician, shared her interest in Eastern philosophical thought. They learned from each other while hiking, reading, drinking tea, studying the theories of François Cheng, a Sinologist, and even practicing Tai Chi, immersing themselves in Eastern culture.
In 2014,
Yahui gave birth to her daughter Yoyo. During her two-year break, she reevaluated her creative approach, seeking deeper artistic meanings and trying to find the foundation of her creativity. She sought balance between her roles as a mother and a professional artist, two identities that represent freedom and responsibility. Yahui managed this by maintaining a regular creative routine in her studio and extensively reading Chinese philosophical views on 'self-cultivation,' balancing her artistic pursuits and family life.In 2015,
she created the "A Slant of Light" series of photographic works, exploring the painterly qualities within image space. In this series, she painted with ink on paper, using shadows to express spatial depth, then folding the paper before photographing it. From this point on, Yahui's creations focused primarily on pure image practice, gradually moving away from narrative and everyday objects to concentrate on fundamental elements such as light, shadow, and ink, revisiting her own construction of space and human ability to perceive it, thus finding a connection with traditional painting. Yahui explained, "I paint shadows, but this is also about dealing with light. When I apply the ink, shadows and light appear simultaneously." During this period, her friend Wang Hanfang commented, "Before delving into deep thought, concepts or images must be simplified and abstracted."The same year, she began teaching at Yuan Ze University, studying art history and the essence of art more seriously.
In 2016,
following her static photography series "A Slant of Light," Yahui created the dynamic video installation "Off the beaten track." This work is highly abstract, simplifying the projected images into intersecting brushstrokes, accompanied by the shadows and movement of flipping pages. Through the ink and lines in the images, this piece responds to the void-solid and flowing qualities of Eastern ink painting and is also part of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum's collection. At this time, Yahui's creative approach became more rational, combining reflections on nature, the ambiance of Wang Wei's poem "Deer Enclosure," and her understanding of Giorgio Morandi's still-life images. She explained, "The movement, luminosity, and spatiality of images have always played a significant role in my work. I see these elements as a kind of 'brushstroke' and 'composition,' reflecting my understanding of painting and imagery, aiming to present a landscape that is constantly changing, dynamic, and responsive to nature." She showcased her works from this period in her solo exhibition "A Slant of Light" at TKG+.
In 2017,
curator Chia Chi Jason Wang exhibited Yahui's works from this period in the exhibition “Crisscrossing East and West:The Remaking of Ink Art in Contemporary East Asia" at Moca Yin Chuan. This was Yahui's first participation in a group exhibition that bridged new media art with ink art. The same year, at the invitation of Yi-ting Lei, a research assistant at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Yahui wrote "Five Dialogues." Yahui, who values simplicity in friendships, often learns from her favorite artists, understanding their vision and creations through their eyes, which she finds deeply satisfying. She said, "After turning forty, I often ponder the relationship between art and self-cultivation. Cultivation is not just about personal moral character but also about personal enrichment. I love to read extensively about the artists I admire, immerse myself in their works, strive to see through their eyes, feel what they feel, and perceive the world from their perspective."
In 2018,
at the invitation of curator Andreas Walther, Yahui held a solo exhibition "Questions to Shadow" at the Kiesen Culture Association in Germany.In 2019,
in collaboration with Eslite Gallery, Yahui presented her solo exhibition "A Brief History of Time." This exhibition reflected her thoughts over the past decade, from early explorations of spatial psychological perception and illusions, to discussions on painterliness in the 2010s, and to the relationship between objects and image space, while also incorporating thoughts on time. During this period, she studied the abstract paintings of Philip Guston, deeply realizing that abstraction is actually about the best order of the entirety of things. Yahui explained, "I view time as part of the very texture of things, not as an external measurement. This is how I respond to objects through moving images." The work "Chessboard" in the exhibition was her first near-sculptural work with a physical volume. She said, "I wanted to return to things in life, to delve into their painterliness. The images in the works are not just images; they are also actual objects with weight and volume."
In 2020,
continuing the creative trend of the previous year, Yahui exhibited her solo exhibition "The Diamonds that is Raindrops" at Absolute Space in Tainan. In this exhibition, everyday objects once again became the main theme of her creation. She transformed light and shadow-based ephemeral images into tangible objects with a sense of volume. She stated in her creation, "I consider photographic images as part of sculpture, combining them with real objects in some way to form a whole. The so-called combination is not just about putting different forms together... I am thinking about how our perception of objects is constructed." During this period, Yahui conducted various experiments in her works, blending rationality with sensibility.
In 2021,
Yahui proposed the idea of a mid-career retrospective exhibition, which was supported by her curator friend Wang Hanfang. Consequently, Hanfang organized Yahui's solo exhibition "Still Life Sonata" at the Taitung Art Museum, which combed through her twenty years of works. In this exhibition, Yahui recalled her internship experience in Guanshan, Taitung, two decades earlier. She described, "Living in the city all my life, I entered a completely different rhythm of time and space, one that differed from the city's pace, rules, logic, and goal-oriented rhythm. This rhythm was that of clouds, mountains, fields, and trees. At that time, I felt as if the entire world was gently swaying and flowing, a never-repeating cycle that reminded me of Morandi's bottle paintings. A slight change in position and combination resulted in a masterpiece. I became fascinated with this rhythm, bought a digital video camera, and started filming various types of clouds, light, and mountains every day. Many years later, I realized that this rhythm had always been recorded within me, forming a fundamental tone in how I perceive the world."Simultaneously, commissioned by the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, Yahui created "The Scent of Paddy Fields," which was included in the museum's collection.
In 2022,
Yahui participated in the group exhibition “Spinning East Asia Series II: A net (Dis)entangled” at CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile) in Hong Kong, showcasing "Yiyi" This work returned to the essence of imagery, transforming ink painting into projection and using light to draw the images, while also expressing the spirituality of ink painting. The everyday objects in the work, at first glance merely two ordinary towels, became part of the imagery when light was projected onto the ink. This piece combined imagery, readymade objects, ink painting, and object study, continuing the influence of traditional culture in contemporary life. Yahui stated, "I want to respond to our contemporary East Asian living experience through this new ink space and time, and the integration of different elements during the viewing process."The same year, she was diagnosed with cancer and her health rapidly deteriorated after the Lunar New Year.
In 2023,
at the age of 50, Yahui passed away due to her illness. Her last creations were picture diaries with her daughter Yoyo. Reflecting on Yahui's 30-year artistic career, she captured the landscapes of her heart through her senses and represented them in her works. She did not pursue vanity and fame in the art world but focused on pure creation. Yahui seriously explored the essence of art and self-cultivation through mediums like imagery, text, and language, offering sincere, poetic, and imaginative works to everyone. Her spirit and the essence left by her artworks will blend into this world, existing anew in the rhythm of clouds drifting, sea waves rippling, the alternation of day and night, and in each breath we take.
Archivist｜Julian Chu