YAO Jui-chung

b. 1969. Lives and works in Taipei.
YAO Jui-Chung represented Taiwan at the Venice Biennale (1997) and has participated in events
such as the International Triennale of Contemporary Art Yokohama (2005). He was the Art Director of Edward Yang’s film. Among varied themes, he most importantly examines the absurdity of the human condition. Representative publications include Installation Art in Taiwan and The New Wave of Contemporary Taiwan Photography. www.yaojuichung.com

Long Live, 2011
Video, color, sound, 5 min. 20 sec
야오 루이중3
Courtesy the artist
The centenary of Hsinhai Revolution has passed; the Cold War has long ended, neoliberalism has conquered the world, and the logic of global capitalism has become a universal currency. But what is the transcendental rule of history? Could there be an everlasting dynasty of Nationalism? This video begins in Kinmen, the frontier of the frontiers of the Cold War. Not a single soul in sight on the chilling battlefield, all we hear is ‘Wansui!’ (‘ten thousand years’) repeatedly coming through the most powerful loudspeakers of all psychological wayfarers. Beyond the speakers, the Generalissimo is also calling for ‘Wansui!’ in the derelict Chieh-shou (literally, ‘long live Chiang Kai-shek’) Hall next to the Chungshan Building in Yangmingshan. At the end, the camera takes us to a disused cinema, and the propaganda of an eternal empire echoes an eternal repetition of history. [YAO Jui-Chung]