Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts
By A&M

The 2025 Taoyuan International Art Award (TIAA) exhibition, hosted by the Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts (TMoFA) opened at the Taoyuan Arts Center, and runs till 18 May 2025. In this article, we hear from the exhibiting artists about their works.

2025 Taoyuan International Art Award exhibition. Photo by Anpis Wang.

Chulayarnnon Siriphol Kasamaponn Saengsuratham, Arjin Thongyuukong, Krongpong Langkhapin, ‘Red Eagle Sangmorakot: No More Hero In His Story’, 2025, 3-channel video installation.

The Grand Prize has been awarded to Thai artists Chulayarnnon Siriphol, Kasamaponn Saengsuratham, Arjin Thongyuukong, and Krongpong Langkhapin for their work ‘Red Eagle Sangmorakot: No More Hero In His Story’. The work highlights the realities of Thai boxing, which is often glamorised in the media and the national consciousness.

Siriphol noted that while boxing is a source of national pride, there is more to it than meets the eye. “Many boxers start at a young age, often because they come from poor families,” he says. “They fight for a chance at a better life, but it's not an easy path. A lot of them don’t have a choice but to enter the industry, as boxing is seen as a way out of poverty, even though it’s a tough and dangerous career.” Siriphol elaborates, “I want people to understand the struggle that these boxers face, not just the image of boxing as a beautiful sport. It is important to highlight the reality of the industry, and the fact that many boxers are forced into it because of their economic situation.”

Working Hard (She Wen Ying, Kuo Po Yu), ‘Sleep in Fish (Ikan Kapan Bobok)’, 2024, bucket, fishing lure, lighting, line, mesh wire, water, paint, rope, second-hand furniture, sugar, sugary drinks, wood, and other found objects.

The Sojourn Award went to Taiwanese artist duo Working Hard (She Wen Ying and Kuo Po Yu) for ‘Sleep in Fish (Ikan Kapan Bobok)’. “Taoyuan is a city that resonates with the themes of our work, especially considering that Taiwan has welcomed Southeast Asian migrant workers for over 30 years,” they say. “This provides an opportunity to observe how Taiwanese society interacts with migrant workers from culturally similar backgrounds.”

Elaborating on the work and the significance of showing it at the award exhibition, they say, “Although our work focuses on migrant fishermen in southern Taiwan, there are many parallels with Taoyuan, particularly in its reliance on foreign labor. I believe that international awards like this create space for meaningful conversations about global issues, fostering dialogue and exchange between different countries and social contexts.”

The installation is made up of a canopy structure inspired by makeshift shelters that migrant fishermen build along the harbour. “These workers often lack legal land rights, yet they need places to rest and access to clean water,” they say. “However, their employers only provide cramped sleeping places on the boats. While this type of structure once existed in Taiwan, local audiences may find it unfamiliar or may not even realise it was ever part of the landscape.” They add, “Through this work, we hope that viewers will engage with the space, perhaps using mobile translation tools to read the banners displayed. In doing so, they might gain new insights and perspectives, sparking a deeper connection to these often-overlooked narratives.”

Lee Tek Khean, ‘Gai Gaau’, 2024, mixed media.

An Honourable Mention was granted to three works, including ‘Gai Gaau’ by Malaysian artist Lee Tek Khean. The title of the work is the name of a virtual religion that the artist has created. Gai Gaau as a religion considers our ability to tell what is true from what is not at a time of information overload and “fake news”. “I have observed that during elections in Malaysia, Taiwan, and even France, information with high online traffic tends to dominate the discourse,” says Lee. “At the same time, I have also noticed that many AI-generated fake pieces of information generate significant engagement.” He questions, “This led me to wonder—if I were to create something fake and produce fabricated videos, would people also believe in this religion?”

In the exhibition, Lee has included many prints, in an extension of his work ‘Teenager, Mist and Umbrella’ from 2019, where he had used modern woodcut prints to document the Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Bill protests. This was to ruminate on whether woodcut prints, which had traditionally been used to share knowledge, remained relevant. For this exhibition, the work continues to explore the concept of dissemination into digital media, particularly who gets to disseminate the information digitally.

Tsai Yu Ting, ‘See you next time’, 2024, single channel video, installation, mixed plane map.

Taiwanese artist Tsai Yu Ting is showing the installation ‘See you next time’ (2024) at the exhibition. The focal point of the work is a video, which narrates his combined experiences in Taipei, the Golden Triangle and Bangkok. “What I hope to convey to the audience is an exploration of the relationship between the body and the mind, as well as the connection between the body and the state,” says Tsai. “Within these relationships, how do we seek spiritual freedom? Or, what kind of sense of liberation do we experience when we detach from the physical body? This is the core message that I want to express through this work.”

Delayed Takeoff From Taoyuan (Lin Yan Xiang Wang Cheng Hsiang), ‘Urge Miracle to Stay’, 2024, airplane wreckage, objects found on site, prints, single-channel video, documents.

It is gratifying for Taiwanese artist duo Delayed Takeoff from Taoyuan (Lin Yan Xiang and Wang Cheng Hsiang) to show ‘Urge Miracle to Stay’ (2024) in Taoyuan, about the Miracle Café building. “Being able to exhibit our work in the place where we live and where significant events have taken place holds deep meaning for us,” they say. “We have always wanted to show our work in Taoyuan. During our past exhibitions, we didn’t have the opportunity to present the piece in its entirety. After taking the time to process and refine it, we have now translated it into what we consider the most complete and ideal version of our work.”

The work will continue to evolve along with the development project that it documents. Wang says, “As we exhibit this work, the development site is constantly changing as well. At that time, the Miracle Café building still stood, but over the course of a few years, the area underwent significant transformations, dramatically altering the landscape. Because of this, we incorporated these shifts and changes into our work.” He adds, “We envision this piece evolving alongside the development project. Ideally, it will continue to be exhibited until the development is complete—or perhaps even beyond. The project adapts as the landscape continues to change. We also hope to integrate more elements of the evolving environment into the work, including the voices of the people affected by these changes.”

Lin expresses the duo’s wish for it to engage with an ever bigger audience. He says, “We want to share these stories through various means—publishing, filmmaking, artistic creation—so that they can reach more people.” He also emphasises the meaning of showing the work in Taoyuan. “These events aren’t distant; in fact, some take place surprisingly close, sometimes even near the airport,” adds Lin. “People often see airports or other familiar locations as everyday spaces, but in reality, many untold stories unfold there. The distance from our exhibition site to the airport is only about a 20- to 30-minute journey. While the physical gap isn’t large, the stories behind these places are vast and often overlooked.”

This article is presented in partnership with the 2025 Taoyuan International Art Award. Click here to read another A&M article featuring input from jury chairman Reuben Keehan and juror David Teh.

The 2025 Taoyuan International Art Award exhibition is open from 26 March to 18 May 2025 at the Taoyuan Arts Center. For more information on the award, click here. To visit the Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts official website, click here. The Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts is scheduled to officially open in 2027.