Narrated through time and space, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts presents the aesthetics of contemporary Parisian imagery.

By Gao Wei-Yi and Lee Hsin-Yi | Compiled and Reported

"Narratives in Time and Space – The Artist as Storyteller," co-organized by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the Contemporary Art Department of the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (ARC), showcases a selection of the museum’s contemporary video art collection. Curated by the museum’s two curators, Chérif and Bourroulhou, the exhibition brings together 21 representative video installation works by 19 groups of artists of different generations—either born in France or long-term practitioners there. The works offer audiences a comprehensive view of diverse creators’ visual aesthetics and narrative meanings, as well as their innovative use of digital imaging technology. Within the established exhibition model of the museum, the video installations construct unique temporal and spatial realms, aiming to allow viewers to experience France’s distinctive cultural and philosophical dimensions. The exhibition is now open to the public and will run until November 6.

The participating artists include Christian Boltanski, the French representative at the 2011 Venice Biennale; Ange Leccia, who focuses on light, sound, and film; Anne-Marie Schneider, nominated for the 2010 Prix Marcel Duchamp; Ariane Michel, who rarely uses “animals” combined with external scenery as the main narrative subject; and younger-generation artists such as Julien Discrit and Benoît Broisat.

One of the featured works, the "Annie" series, is part of the project "Not Ghosts but Only Shells" by Huyghe and Parreno. In 1999, the two artists purchased the copyright to the image of "Annie"—a big-eyed, inexpensive symbol with no distinct personality or features—from a Japanese manga factory for just $428, giving her a second life. They gave "Annie" a cosmetic makeover, created several soundtracks, and made her available for other artists to use freely in creating their own versions of "Annie" stories. As a result, "Annie" was not only reborn but also had her lifespan extended, even attaining an immortal status. The three films exhibited this time are three different artists’ renditions of their own unique stories about this same character.