Unfolding Circuits: 1st Tainan Art Biennale 2026 ＃MobilityCircuit: Rachmad Afandi X Tok Yu-Xiang｜Absolute Space for the Arts
展期 Duration｜2026.10.31 (Sat) – 12.27 (Sun)
藝術家 Artist｜拉赫瑪德 · 阿凡迪 Rachmad Afandi、卓俞翔 Tok Yu-Xiang
地點 Venue｜絕對空間 Absolute Space for the Arts
開幕茶會Opening｜2026.10.31 (Sat) 15:00
開幕座談 Forum｜2026.10.31 (Sun) 15:30
與談人 Guest｜柯宜芸 Ko Yi-Yun
Curator－Ko Yi-Yun
Urban Ripples
If roundabouts are the hubs that drive urban movement, the city itself operates like a massive engine, fueled by the kinetic energy of "mobility." Through cycles of commuting, pausing, and departing, individual trajectories gradually map themselves out. These recurrent paths weave isolated spaces together, constituting the very rhythm of the city—like ripples expanding outward, loop after loop
Rachmad Afandi
His works explore the intersection between art, Islamic traditions, and history, delving into the political, social, and religious contexts. By tracing the genealogy and liniage of knowledge, Rachmad investigates how these elements shape individual and communal perspectives.
Rachmad employs various media, including painting, screen printing, woodcut, Installation, video, and performance art. over the past seven years, his work has been rooted in themes of history, folklore, and mythology, particularly within postcolonial contexts. His interest also lies in figure on the fringes of society and conceptual idea that inspire much of his work.
Rachmad has Been involved in initiating several collectives between 2013 and 2015, such as Garda Blakang ( Performance art and Zine) and Barasub ( comic Art Zine). In 2016 he joined and actively participated in The SURVIVE! Garage, a commitment he maintains to this day. In 2019 Rachmad become one of the initiators of the formation of the Benggala project and in 2021 he joined Lesbumi (Indonesian Islamic Arts and Culture Institutions).
Tok Yu-Xiang
Yu-Xiang Tok, a ceramics major, graduated from LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore before pursuing a master’s degree at the Graduate Institute of Applied Arts at Tainan National University of the Arts (TNNUA) in Taiwan. He later received a scholarship from the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore to continue his doctoral studies at TNNUA’s Graduate Institute of Art Creation and Theory. His works fuse ruggedness with elegance, seeking the essence and deeper meanings of objects.
Passionate about ceramics, Tok has participated in the Indonesia Ceramic Biennale and the Xi’an Ceramic Forum in China. With extensive residency experiences in the United States, Korea, Japan, and Europe—alongside teaching and promoting ceramics and wood-firing techniques in Taiwan, Singapore, and across Europe and the Americas—his practice reflects both a broad global perspective and a deep critical reflection on issues such as commerce, materials, and neoliberalism. Zhuo is recognized as one of the most promising emerging ceramic artists of his generation
About artist
拉赫瑪德 · 阿凡迪 Rachmad Afandi
1994年生於印尼日惹，畢業於日惹印尼藝術學院，現居日惹。創作涵蓋繪畫、版畫、裝置、影像與表演，從歷史、民間傳說及神話汲取靈感，關注後殖民語境，以及藝術、伊斯蘭傳統與歷史的交會，探討政治、社會與宗教如何形塑個人及群體視角，並積極參與當地藝術社群。
Born in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in 1994, Rachmad Afandi graduated from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta and is currently based in Yogyakarta. His practice encompasses painting, printmaking, installation, video, and performance. Drawing inspiration from history, folklore, and mythology, he explores postcolonial contexts and the intersections of art, Islamic traditions, and history. His work examines how political, social, and religious forces shape individual and collective perspectives, and he actively engages with the local artistic community.
卓俞翔Tok Yu-Xiang
1983年生於新加坡，現居臺南，畢業於新加坡拉薩爾藝術學院及國立臺南藝術大學應用藝術研究所。長期以陶瓷為主要媒材，延伸至裝置、雕塑與材料實驗，關注物質背後的文化與社會意涵。曾赴多國駐村及展覽，並從陶瓷實踐延伸探討商業、原料與新自由主義等議題。
Born in Singapore in 1983 and currently based in Tainan, Tok Yu-xiang graduated from LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore and the Graduate Institute of Applied Arts at Tainan National University of the Arts. He has worked primarily with ceramics for many years, and has extended his artistic scope into installation, sculpture, and experimental work with materials. His work explores the cultural and social meanings embedded within materials, and addresses issues connected with commerce, raw materials, and neoliberalism. He has participated in residencies and exhibitions in various countries.
Unfolding Circuits: 1st Tainan Art Biennale 2026
Seven Sections, Seven Paths, Seven Curators, Seven Sub-themes
Diversity in curation, global-local dialogue
Date│2026.10.31 - 2027.3.1
Venues│
16 Main Venues: Tainan Art Museum, Preparatory Office of National Museum of Modern Art Tainan, National Museum of Taiwan Literature + Institute of Cultural Heritage Preservation Research, Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Yeh Shyr-Tau Literary Memorial Museum, Justice Museum, Japanese Patriotic Women's Association, West Central District Library of Tainan City, Tainan Confucius Temple, Former Tainan Park Office, Tang Te-Chang Memorial Park, B.B. ART, Chuang Mei Theater, San Gallery, Taiwan Prefectural City God Temple, Fudu KIÀN TIÒK, Absolute Space for the Arts
16 Satellite venues: Guan-Di Temple of Ba-Ji-Jing, ArtDe Corner, U.I.J Hotel & Hostel + The Third Act Collection, Wenting Phonograph Museum, CaoJi Book inn, Tian Tan (Tian Gong Temple), Sanzen Sekai, as house, Asir Art Museum, Zhu-Xi Temple, HAYASHI Department Store, Fotoaura Institute of Photography, Der-Horng Art Gallery, The Moolah Multi-Art Space, Jan House, Thai Peng Keng Maxwell Memorial Church + No. 8, Gongyuan Road
“Unfolding Circuits,” the theme of the inaugural Tainan Art Biennial, echoes the seven historic roads radiating from the roundabout at Tainan's Tang Te-chang Memorial Park. For this exhibition, seven curators—Apex Lin, Pang-soong, Sotetsu Sha, Kao Jun-honn, Yang Chia-hsuan, Ko Chun-ju, Chuang Tong-chiao, and Ko Yi-yun—have been invited to elaborate on this theme, and have developed seven distinct sub-themes: the "Vanished Circuit," "Environment Circuit," "Historical Circuit," "Collective Circuit," "Regenerative Circuit," "Landscape Circuit," and "Mobility Circuit."
Circuits are usually defined as circular loops. What if we were to unfold and expand a loop, like the roads going in different directions from a traffic roundabout? What if the loop was an iteration, and with every spin something shifted? This section features highlights from the accounts of the seven curators for the upcoming Tainan Art Biennial, who rely on different vantage points to weave a complex map of Tainan's past, present, and future.
These seven accounts offer seven ways of seeing the city and seven exercises in getting in touch with the authentic Tainan within each circuit.
絕對空間｜空間營運補助｜國藝會
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