TAIWANfest presents Cultures Fermented, Chin-Wen Cheng's artwork inspired by the concept of fermentation
Through his detailed drawings, the visual artist expresses cultural and social elements of Taiwan and Korea
Chin-Wen Cheng: Cultures Fermented—Korea.
In Asia, the tradition of pickling ingredients in ceramic urns exists in many societies. The pickling process can also be used as a metaphor to describe the way culture, history, and people have been brought together, continuously interacting and reacting then fermenting over time, gradually evolving into the Taiwan and South Korea we know today.
Visual artist Chin-Wen Cheng has created an artwork inspired by the concept of fermentation for TAIWANfest 2021. In Cultures Fermented, Chin-Wen depicts many prominent characteristics of culture and society in Taiwan and South Korea.
If the development of the two countries’ cultures can be likened to the process of fermentation, Confucianism and Japanese occupation are key ingredients.
Both countries have experienced similar social movements; the Taiwanese people’s petition to establish a Taiwanese Parliament and South Korea’s March 1st Movement were pivotal political events that resisted Japanese colonial rule. The struggle against authoritarian governments during martial law in both countries, such as Taiwan’s Formosa Incident in 1979 and the 1989 Gwangju Uprising in Korea, is another layer in the pickling urn.
Both urns contain the taste of blood and sweat; fermented with the people’s perseverance, there is also the sweetness of democracy and freedom.
Chin-Wen Cheng: Cultures Fermented—Taiwan.
While the urns for the two countries hold many similar historical ingredients, the ingredients of language, religious beliefs, and social values produce two distinct flavours. South Korea’s #MeToo movement in 2018 which kicked off the #EscapeTheCorset social media revolution highlighted the gender inequality in South Korean society. Around the same time, the LGBT+ rights movement in Taiwan gained momentum when the Constitutional Court made the historical ruling that barring same-sex couples the right to marry was unconstitutional, marking a step towards social equality.
Despite sharing many historical influences, Taiwan and South Korea each have their own secret ingredients inside the urn, found in the differences of their everyday society and culture.
Visual artist Chin-Wen Cheng.
Chin-Wen was born in 1985 in Weaver Girl’s hometown, Hemei Township in Changhua. He majored in industrial design in university and pursued a career as an animation artist after graduation. He now works as a freelance illustrator.
Through his detailed drawings, Chin-Wen aims to raise awareness of important social issues while incorporating personal viewpoints.
In this collaboration with the TAIWANfest, Chin-Wen believes that the theme of Cultures Fermented provides an interesting contrast that allows him to understand the past of Korea from a Taiwanese perspective while seeing the opportunities of Taiwan from a Korean perspective.
The starting point, however, is the concept of multiculturalism in Canada. The fusion and interaction of these three different cultures is exquisitely expressed in his artwork.
Cultures Fermented is part of TAIWANfest’s 2021 virtual programming. The festival runs September 2 to 12. For more information, see TAIWANfest.
Post sponsored by Asian Canadian Special Events Association