Asia Art Center had the pleasure of hosting LA born, London based artist Katja Farin in the historic fishing village of Nanfang’ao on the east coast of Taiwan for a six-week residency in the summer of 2024. As the first artist to participate in the newly launched AAC International Artist Residency Program in Taiwan, Farin shares their firsthand experiences about local cultures and the impacts on their works with project manager Wen-Su Lo before their return to London.
Lo: This is your first trip to Taiwan, what were your expectations and what were your first impressions?
Farin: I've never been to Asia, so everything was kind of new and exciting and it was thrilling just to be somewhere completely different to the West. I knew I was going into a small town, but it was just so incredible to really be there and get to know the rhythms of the city. And I soon ended up doing the same rituals that everyone else was doing, like waking up at the same time and being in tune with the town.
Being dropped into a completely foreign environment that I'm not used to was so exciting. And I had a real drive to explore more and try new things and try new food, such as going into temples, tasting fish soups and to really explore the natural life there.
Being somewhere that's non-western was so important and kind of integral because it's a completely different foundation of society that I've never experienced before, because I'm used to Catholicism being the institution. But it’s so different here and so…otherworldly in a way, than what I was used to, but also so similar at the same time.
Lo: How conductive was the environment to your work?
Farin: Making work in different places is always going to affect the imagery. Here especially, I was making paintings of the fishing boats outside and the beautiful huge jungle mountains. I think because when you're interacting with the outdoors, it's just going to come into the paintings. I went swimming in the sea, relaxed on the beach and went on hiking trips with my new local friends which were so much fun and inspiring.
In London, it's raining all the time, so I’m constantly trapped indoors. I'm thinking visually about the interiors, but things are very different here. It's sunny, it's bright, it's raining and it's dramatic. And I think the drama of the landscape really made its way into the paintings, because I was in this place that I had never been before and was really experiencing that drama firsthand.
The variety of imagery here is really interesting. There's so much variety in how people decorate their homes and the temples and there's so much esthetic difference everywhere. So it makes it really exciting to try and take that in and bring them into the paintings, like the bright colors. I normally paint with very bright colors anyway, but there's actually a lot of bright colors in the nature landscape here which are fantastic.
Lo: Did you have the solo show in mind during the execution of the paintings in Nanfang’ao, and how do they differ from those completed in London?
Farin: Having a big solo exhibition at the end of the residency made me think about the work I made in London, dissecting it and wondering on what moments do I want to add to the show and how do I utilize being in Taiwan as a way to make that happen.
It was really great to have a contemplate of period before this big exhibition and being able to add new works to that with this new excitement. I've been working on the show for about a year and it's really fun to have a last minute push and excitement that can be added to this great exhibition.
Being in the place that this show was going to happen was just so much more exciting, to be able to feel a real connection to the area that I'm showing in. Where if I was just shipping the paintings from London and not being able to be here, I wouldn't have the same connection to the work and have the place and the experience as a whole.
There's always these similar themes that I'm working with, and there’s definitely a connection between all the works. It feels very clear just because of the landscape, the colors, the feeling that I was having during the making of the works. Being in the small village, I was very contemplative, I did a lot of reading and felt really relaxed. It was very different from being in London where everything is fast paced in a big city. The differences in energy really come through in the paintings, and I think the differences are clearly visible in the exhibition.
Visiting the National Palace Museum was such an exciting experience. It was amazing to see such beautiful objects from so long ago that felt extremely contemporary. It reminded me of how as artists we are always looking through history and mimicking, recreating and being inspired by each other. It makes me think of our collective unconscious and how we truly are all connected.
Lo: Taiwan is the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in Asia, what’s your experience staying here as a queer person been like?
Farin: It was so nice traveling somewhere where the government supports queer culture and arts. You can really feel that in the culture of the people, everyone is so sweet and welcoming- where it doesn't always feel that way. Traveling as queer your guard is always slightly up and aware of the surroundings. But I felt in Taipei and Nanfang'ao that I wasn't in clear danger and felt very welcomed to be who I am. Especially after seeing government officials (Commissioner of Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government and a Legislator) at an AMAZING drag show I saw in Taipei.
I go to a lot of drag performances in LA and London, which usually take place in a basement space or in a bar, never at a professional venue on such a scale. The sound, the lighting and the effort put into the show are just incredible! It’s great that drag performance is appreciated as a form of art and how people in Taiwan embrace queer culture. I already have friends asking if I’d recommend Taiwan as a LGBTQ+ friendly travel destination.
Lo: What’s your idea of “gender” and how does it affect your practice?
Farin: There’s always ambiguity with gender in my paintings. As a trans person, that’s very important to me, and, in my work, gender is an open-ended experience. It doesn’t have to be tight and closed. I call on my own experiences of gender dysphoria and navigating the world as a trans person in my work. As a unique minority, I try to show the complexities as well as the similarities of us all. We all deal with struggles with identity, physical appearance, personal acceptance and difference. There’s a lot of ambiguity and anxiety within the figures themselves—their poses and faces can be sort of dissociative. It’s like they’re all kind of lost within their own selfhood, or their selfhood is moving around them and they’re not connecting to it. There’s always an anticipatory feeling in the work, like the other shoe could drop at any moment. I don’t think of my work as depicting reality—I’m depicting feelings, and my use of color really plays into those depictions of emotions and a sense of un-realness in the scenes.
Lo: What lasting impression will the experience leave on you?
Farin: Being here has really changed the way I think in the bigger global sense. It's so fun to see how similar and different we are, and I’ve also learnt other ways of looking at things from the art that I've seen while being here. How people think, talk, explore and show their personality have also made an impact on my perspectives on things.
There are so many temples in Taiwan! I am fairly superstitious, so it was interesting to see how I really wasn't alone! The ritual of going to the temple really feels open to all to pray, contemplate and give thanks. I really loved that everyone has access to their spirituality and can take part as much or as little as they want. People's connection to themselves and others was very communal and kind, people really were so giving and accepting of me. Hopefully I can bring a part of that back with me to dreary London.
Next time I'm back I’d like to explore more of the west coast of Taiwan and really experience a whole different kind of culture because there are yet so many new things for me to see despite the language barrier and culture differences. I’d love to spend more time in nature, such as Yushan National Park and Pingtung County, and visit more natural hot springs.
