Linhuei Chen (b. 1981) is a Taiwanese Dutch artist based in Rotterdam. Her work investigates how migration impacts transcultural individuals’ notions of home and cultural hybridity within the discourse of transculturalism influenced by contemporary migration and diaspora. She explores this topic through personal experiences and collective memory/ideas on migration, Dutch colonisation in Taiwan and cultural hybridity, providing perspectives between East Asia and Europe.
Chen uses painting as the primary medium to express her personal experiences and collective ideas based on social research and participatory workshops. She often combines paintings with drawings, objects or installations for diverse viewing experiences.
Metaphoric Stereoscope: Tatong Doll, 1969, Taiwan (watercolor on photography, brass, lenses 11x9x5 cm) - This series of work is part of my research on reminiscence objects in 2023. The photographed objects are the objects I collected from various countries such as, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Japan, Korea and other European countries.
I made this viewer with a series of B&W old object photos. I coloured them to recreate their look. Tatong Doll is a prevalent household object from 70’s Taiwan.
Memory Diaspora: Reminiscence Objects - This series is influenced by my experience giving reminiscence art therapy to demented people during the pandemic. I used Dutch-reminiscent objects to retrieve their memories and help them to remember who they were. As a Taiwanese immigrant, I wonder what kinds of objects should be used for people with transcultural backgrounds and have been making paintings as a way of archiving the objects I collect. These works express my personal experiences of exploring memories among different cultures and my curiosity to understand a new culture.
Village of Forgetting & Remembering Board Game (4 to 10 players) - Triggered by my social practice in a Dutch nursing home during Lockdown, I developed a board game called Village of Forgetting & Remembering (2023), where players design their transcultural retirement village, with which we explore the sense of belonging through cultural aspects.
Village of Forgetting & Remembering: 4 villagers: 1 x Taiwanese Dutch, 1 x Dutch and 2 x Taiwanese & Dutch mix - 2023/oil on canvas/50x120cm
Triggered by my social practice in a Dutch nursing home during Lockdown, I developed a board game called Village of Forgetting & Remembering (2023), where players design their transcultural retirement village, with which we explore the sense of belonging through cultural aspects. The paintings are inspired by the memories and stories shared during the workshops.
Mental Image Analysis & Research on transcultural people’s notion of home / 2021 (on going) - I have designed/ hosted several therapeutic art workshops for people with multicultural backgrounds. With the support from CBA Rotterdam and Mondriaan fonds, I created several videos of the workshops with which people can access online and create images themselves. I analyzed the images that people created from the online art therapy sessions in order to understand the mental images of transcultural people at a collective level. Furthermore, I transformed the analysis and inspiration from the public participation to make this painting.
Metaphoric Optical Viewer: Journey to the West - During the residency at V2, I made two videos that reflect my life experiences about the past and now, with the stereoscopic images. In both videos, you can see the I am putting Chinese Opera make-up on while the music of the Chinese instrument gong is playing. It is an improvising performance in which I transform into the Handsome Monkey King, who is a famous character in the classical Chinese epic Journey to the West
This performance is a key element that connects other autobiographical footage of this two channel video installation and symbolises her transformation during my journey to the West.
In this project, Chen integrates modern technology with the classic stereoscope to extend the possibility of her visual research: the source of the stereo-image is not limited to small, two-dimensional still images anymore. This setup allows the viewer to engage and experience the stories the artist conveys through different dimensions of media and multiple sensations.
Memory Diaspora: Plantae - Dimension: 247x200 cm acylic on wood panel
This painting Plantae represents part of the world of the Memory Diaspora, where the artist depicts a digital world; where consciousness and subconsciousness are stored and transform freely, where memories exist as a diaspora.
To construct this world, Chen started with collecting people’s memories about plants, which they give to her in a spoken text. She listens to those stories and visualizes the plants according to their memories. In this painting, she lets the viewers enter this fantasized world: where people’s memories about plants intertwine, connect and evolve, where there is no border, nor the hierarchy of colours and culture, where the consciousness and subconsciousness should not be forgotten.
How to Get the Direction in the Water
The Third Space - Painting installation with video, sound, 3D objects
Audio in the space can be found :
https://memoryarchiver.bandcamp.com/track/the-3rd-space
Book: The Third Space (2019)
