Organizer ：Taipei Culture Foundation、MOCA Taipei、Sunpride Foundation

Artists：Jimmy Ong, Wang Liang-Yin, Jun-Jieh Wang, Wang Haiyang, Xi Ya Die, Hou Chun-Ming, Chen Chien-Pei, Hsi Shih-Pin, Tao Hui, Shiy De-Jinn, Chuang Chih-Wei, Wu Tsang, Tzeng Yi-Hsin, Martin Wong, Ming Wong, Tseng Kwong Chi, Samson Young, Yan Xing, Wen Hsin, Ho Tam, Su Hui-Yu, Fu-sheng Ku

Introduction

Contemporary art museums in major cities worldwide have been engaging the public in exploration of social issues, artistic viewpoints, and the human condition by visually representing these topics through contemporary artistic approaches. They offer the public a route to apply perceptual knowledge to the discussion of diverse social issues and inspire humanity’s vision for a better understanding of the world. In 2017, prestigious European art museums, including the Tate Modern, the Tate Britain, and the British Museum, have launched various thematic exhibitions featuring LGBTQ artists, collections of LGBTQ individuals, and issues of LGBTQ history and rights. These exhibitions emphasized on the mainstream heterosexual society’s self-examination on its prejudices, falsities, and oppression against LGBTQ people as well as its respect for LGBTQ community while honoring the artistic achievements of LGBTQ artists that have revealed their inner world and aesthetic value.

Employing “spectrum of light” as the theme, this exhibition addresses LGBTQ community’s rich history and its appeals for peace, love and diversity with rainbow as its symbol. On the one hand, the spectrum of colors can be seen in a rainbow, a phenomenon caused by the refraction of white light. Rainbow and light are two sides of the same coin, implying that this exhibition is not about the binary opposition between light and darkness, but as diverse and inclusive as the spectrum in terms of its artistic expression and exploration of LGBTQ issues. On the other hand, light is the everlasting source of energy for the creatures on Earth. It treats and nurtures all living organisms fairly and equally, and promises them growth, hope, and kindness. Based on their similar backgrounds in culture, language, geographical location and ethnicity, 22 artists from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore are showcased in the exhibition with a total of 51 artworks. The exhibition represents the life stories and related issues of the post-war Chinese LGBTQ community as the artworks on view touch upon a profusion of subject matters such as identity, equality, exploitation by mass media, social predicaments, comments on individuals/groups, human desire, as well as life and death.