Biography
TAITAITAITAI is an artist based in Chicago and New York with roots in other parts of the US (California,) Taiwan, and Latin America. She makes installations that can be or are activated in movement performance. Her artist first name TAITAI comes from the colloquial Mandarin reference of a matriarch who earns her status in society by throwing killer parties, taking care of the household and possibly raising descendents. Her last name TAITAI alludes to the excess of being "too much" of the Chinese adverb tai「太」used in instances like the sun, excessively bright/positive/yang「 太陽」。
TAITAI obtained her BA in dance and psychology at Washington University, and Certificate in contemporary dance performance at the Peridance Capezio Center. She has furthered her movement training with other dance (American Dance Festival), yoga asana (Iyengar), and fitness (Strongman) modalities. While trying to figure out the correct fit between survival and art making, she trained as a translator in New York University's MS in Translation Studies (Chinese to English.) She sealed her art making education with an MFA program for Visual Arts from the University of Chicago.
Biografía
TAITAITAITAITAI es una artista basada en Chicago y Nueva York, con raices en otras partes de los Estados Unidos (California,) Taiwán, y América Latina. Ella crea instalaciones (esculturas y fotografías) cúales pueden ser o son activadas en performance que involucran movimientos. El primer nombre de artista de TAITAI viene de la referencia coloquial mandarina de una matriarca quién gana su estado en la sociedad organizando fiestas matadoras, cuidando la casa y posiblemente criando descendientes. El apellido de artista de TAITAI alude al exceso de ser "demasiada" del adverbio chino, tai「太」cómo de sol, excesivo en su luminosidad o positivismo 「 太陽」。
TAITAI obtuvo su licenciatura en danza y psicología, y certificado de performance de danza contemporánea en el Centro de Peridance Capezio. Ella ha continuado su entrenamiento del cuerpo con otras técnicas de danza (Festival de American Dance), asana de yoga (Iyengar) y condición física (Strongman). Cuando trató de encontrar la manera correcta de balancear creando arte y la supervivencia, entrenó cómo un traductor en el programa de maestría de ciencias (chino a inglés) en la Universidad de Nueva York. Finalmente, ella selló su educación de artes con una maestría de artes plásticas de la Universidad de Chicago.
Statement
I make perverse dioramas with organic materials in all states of their potential forms to emphasize the malleability, humor, and fragility of the human condition. These perverse dioramas look like alterations on inorganic materials as "structure" where organic materials as "content" can succumb to the elements of time and force. Within them, my goal is to make visible the more invisible forces that shape a person’s choice of identities and circumstances. I am interested in presenting absurdist mechanisms and systems of production, like a ritual machine to “cook” a chicken, myself, in a nude swimsuit, after shedding off three plastic inflatable dinosaur suits, going through a metal cart of skin care ritual “stations” from top to bottom, to comment on the unconscious ways recognition of beauty and belonging become established.
My work stems from performance making as a dancer and fitness professional in the last fifteen years. Since 2018, I have always been interested in documenting body parts entangled with objects. Involving objects is a way for me to bring to nuance the varying qualities of connection between people and the things around them. My work uses densely textured objects to ask questions about the unity of the human body and the life of still objects. How does the stuff we use become part of us? How do we become mere stuff? I create a meditative atmosphere in performance involving abstract human body movement and objects that hold context of their own in society. The hope is to open the imagination of the viewer in how they engage with other objects and people around them. I imbue routines and steps within my performances, as a nonverbal way to model behaviors that change one’s idea of fixed identities and challenge the “manifest destiny” of living things/objects to remain as they are, unchangeable to the core.
My performance work in the last five years have been modeling self care activities and rituals, from cupping, cleaning, bathing, wax immersion, circuit training and doing Iyengar yoga. They have been the genesis to the sculptural installations I now make with paraffin wax and plastic. I synthesize the actions and textures within a body ritual onto how I treat materials in the studio. I take inspiration from skincare routines. I am seduced by the clarity of steps, changing textures, temperatures, and duration of relating to one’s skin, and ease to reach satisfaction. From the preparatory steps to doing poses in Iyengar yoga, Abraham Maslow’s pyramid towards self-actualization, to Korean skin care routines, procedures are embedded into various philosophies of living. In today’s chaotic and globalized world, steps become a way to establish control and an illusory sense of agency that one’s actions can affect some change, even if it’s just to have softer skin.
Since 2021, I have been creating sculptural installations with things that visually change and possibly disappear within the duration of the showing. However, what remains is one's experience of the sounds and smells of something that happened. Performances provoke audiences out of their bodies and photographs returns the audiences back into their bodies. Installations and photographs for me are resting grounds where people can feel the way objects are treated and staged as living beings.