Yuan Goang-Ming: Everyday War

Widely recognized as a pioneer in Taiwan’s new media art scene, Yuan Goang-Ming is celebrated for his starkly poetic video and installation works which reflect the fragmented and surreal nature of contemporary life. Based on his critically acclaimed exhibition which was presented at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024, Yuan Goang-Ming: Everyday War at Wrightwood 659 is an immersive large-scale installation which creates a unique soundscape throughout the galleries, merging and colliding audio from multiple works, including Prophecy (2014), a kinetic table where glasses and dinnerware are shaken by an unseen threat, subjecting the home to the unpredictably intrusive nature of war. Bridging personal experience and universal themes, Yuan’s immersive films evoke precarious everyday conditions, from the eerie stillness of empty streets during Taiwan’s annual air raid drills, to the chaotic aftermath of an explosion detonated in a living room. His work transforms intimate domestic spaces into powerful metaphors for widespread instability, capturing the tenor of globally turbulent times.