Taipei Biennial 2025 Examines the Persistence of Yearning

The 14th edition of the Taipei Biennial, “Whispers on the Horizon,” opens on November 1 at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM). Curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, the exhibition features around 150 works by 72 artists from 37 cities, including 34 new commissions and site-specific installations in painting, sculpture, film, photography, and performance.

“Whispers on the Horizon” explores yearning as a fundamental human drive towards future possibilities, expressed quietly rather than through declarations. Its conceptual framework is inspired by three symbolic objects from Taiwanese literature and cinema: the puppet from Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s “The Puppetmaster” (1993), the diary from Chen Yingzhen’s “My Kid Brother Kangxiong” (1960), and the bicycle in Wu Ming-Yi’s “The Stolen Bicycle” (2015). These objects, although absent, shape the emotional narrative of the Biennial, representing continuity, interiority, and pursuit in the human experience.

The exhibition integrates contemporary works with pieces from the TFAM collection, fostering an intergenerational dialogue that turns static artifacts into dynamic expressions of yearning. Textile partitions replace solid walls, embodying the themes of permeability and connection.

Curators Bardaouil and Fellrath aimed to create an exhibition intrinsically tied to Taipei, using local histories and contradictions as a lens to view universal themes. They describe yearning as a bridge from personal memory to a shared horizon, where the local becomes global.

Exhibition Highlights:

– Ground floor: Artwork centered on craft, memory, and care, featuring Ciou Zih-Yan’s “Fake Airfield” (2025), Chen Chin’s “Out in the Fields” (1934), and Afra Al Dhaheri’s “Weighted PAUSE” (2025).
– Basement level: Exploration of the body as witness and vessel, with Ivana Bašić’s sculptures, Syu Ching-Pwo’s photograph “Confidence” (1956), and Jacky Connolly’s virtual landscapes in “The Mineral Kingdom (Dark Green)” (2025).
– Upper level: Artistic lineage exploring perception and connection, including Liu Kuo-Sung’s “Floating Mountain” (1971), Eva Jospin’s “Ici” (2025), and P. Staff’s “Skeleton” (2025).

Li-chen Loh, TFAM Director, highlights the Biennial’s embrace of diverse voices and its reflection on local and global ties, encouraging visitors to reconsider their place in the interconnected world.

For more details, visit [taipeibiennial.org/2025](https://www.taipeibiennial.org/2025) or follow TFAM on Facebook and Instagram.