Everyone has partook in a little shadow puppetry at one point in their lives, but for Taiwanese visual artist Jam Wu, the simple bodily gestures have become an artistic medium for his latest solo exhibition. On view at an underground space at Taiwan’s TKG+ gallery, Shadow Puppeteer invites audiences into a mysterious moody room, where screens showcasing various performers guide visitors throughout a monochromatic environment.
Inspired by Through the Walls (2021), the second puppeteer show by Wu consists of installations featuring both artificial and natural light. Within each, onlookers enter a hallucinatory state where the real performers depicted within the lofty screens are distilled into shadowy silhouettes whom ruminate on the core subconsciousness of the human body. From screen to screen, each tenebrous figure physically enacts its own story, such as Soul Harbinger, who Wu described in the show’s audition as being “In harmony with the mundane,” or The Stateless, “A sentient spirit that has been extracted.”
Shadow Puppeteer is an alluring display that will have visitors staring endlessly at the rhythmic displays of color, shadow and form. The exhibition is on view in Taipei until January 27, 2024.
TKG+
B1, No. 15, Ln. 548,
Ruiguang Rd., Neihu Dist.,
Taipei 11492, Taiwan
