Dean-E MEI
Taiwan/Taipei
Dean-E MEI
1954 Borin in Taipei
Award
2023 NATIONAL AWARD FOR ARTS
2003 Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture
Taiwan's unique historical background has resulted in a highly complex cultural identity. It is a blend of the indigenous Taiwanese culture, Chinese culture from the mainland, and various other cultural influences from Japan, the United States, and Western Europe. Throughout its history, Taiwan has maintained a strong but repressed political consciousness, which is a core aspect of its authenticity.
The strong but repressed political consciousness in Taiwan's historical narrative often hinders the writing of objective history, which is rife with falsehoods, biases, and sarcasm. However, within the absurdity, contradictions, and paradoxes of the grand narrative, all manner of indignation, criticism, and ridicule can ferment into inspiration. History is elevated to a form of artistic material and transformed into MEI’s creative energy.
MEI’s work attempts to combine the relationship between historicism and political meaning. He doesn’t intend to respond to politically correct questions or try to reveal any unresolved issues in art itself. What MEI cares about is how they can find a sufficient channel of expression among history, reality, and the public. MEI’s creative work is a manifestation of his personal complexity. Any experience that can be perceived through his ideas can be considered a style of his personality development. All experiences related to motivation and experience may become artistic associations, and they are deeply meaningful, resulting in endless reproduction.