The Hakka Under Japan Bo-Lin Chung The Hakka people in Taiwan have a long history, tracing back to the Qing dynasty and their descent from the Han Chinese. During the Japanese colonization of the island, many Hakka communities were greatly influenced by the Japanese lifestyle and culture. Ping Dong is one county where the Japanese…
The Paper Play – Superhero On Paper – A Forgotten Media– Japanese FanMaestro Ken Hsieh & TAIWANfest Orchestra “Creative Origami is nothing more than judicious imitation.” So claims Origami Kaikan, paper craft museum and store in Tokyo, Japan. Paper may have been invented in China, but over generations entire families of Japanese artists and artisans have…
Fashion Snap Takumi Morohashi How aware are you of your surroundings? Takumi Morohashi is the creative mind behind Fashion Snap. Taking photo-bombing to the next level, Morohashi strikes a pose behind the unwitting participant and his co-conspirator photographer ensures he is the focus of the resulting photo. By partnering with photographers in both Japan and…
Delicate Play with Nature Jean Liao An inch more or an inch less may not matter much in Western floral arrangement, but in Ikebana each centimeter and every component has a particular relation to each other. The artist’s intentions and creativity is expressed through the combination of colours, natural shapes, and even the vessel. Ikebana…
The Paper Play – A Forgotten Media Min-Chuan Chiang In today’s age of big data and ad-blockers many of yesterday’s media are forgotten. Yet the era of paper-based mass communication through paper has not yet truly ended. A Taiwanese collector, Mr Min-Chuan Chiang, has collected matches, matchbooks, and matchboxes produced across the world spanning over a…
Hope Talk – Art of the Japanese Fan Keita Yamamoto Among the most symbolic of Japanese art forms is the hand fan; strips of hinoki (Japanese cypress) connected by thread, covered with paper backing some of the most beautiful and elegant artwork. The paper fan has a long history, originating from China as the rigid…
Who Am I?! TAIWANfest Identity is the culmination of an entire lifetime’s worth of experiences. This is a self-evident truth for a group of Taiwanese painters in the early 20th century, who were introduced to Western watercolours by Japanese artists during the 50 year period of Japanese government in Taiwan. This group of young artists…
The Paper Play – Superhero On Paper Ning Hsieh To call seventeen-year-old Ning Hsieh a fan of paper craft would be a serious understatement. Combining his love for the versatility of paper and the wonder of Western comics, many of Ning Hsieh’s crafts result in life-sized pieces of superhero costumes. In much the same way…