With the support of the Ministry of Culture, Taiwanese visual artist Zhang Xu Zhan has been invited to participate in the 24th Bienal de Arte Paiz, the largest contemporary art exhibition in Central America. His paper puppet video animation work, "Compound Eyes of Tropical," will be exhibited at the gallery La Nueva Fábrica in the World Heritage city of Antigua Guatemala from November 6, 2025 to February 15, 2026. This marks the first time a Taiwanese artist has been invited to participate in the biennial.
Zhang Xu Zhan was born at a century-old paper-crafting shop in Taiwan. He integrates traditional paper-crafting techniques into experimental animation, installations, and videos to explore the possibilities of new visual experiences. By combining paper-crafting with animation, he sought to explore how the locality of Taiwanese culture can engage in dialogue and connection with the globality of diverse culture. His work, "Compound Eyes of Tropical," inspired by the traditional costumes, is adapted from the Southeast Asian folktale "The Mousedeer Crossing the River," using the perspective of compound eyes to see through the multiple facets of different texts. It won the Golden Horse Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2022. Exhibited in a heritage city, his work highly resonates within the historical settings.
Emphasizing cultural and historical contexts of the Global South, the contemporary art scene in Latin America has been thriving and ever-evolving. This year marks the first time Taiwanese artists have been invited to showcase the emerging creativity of new-born Taiwanese artists. Backed by the embassy of Taiwan in Guatemala, this program also aims to present Taiwan's rich cultural heritage to Guatemala, which is a staunch ally of Taiwan with diplomatic relations.
For more information, please visit https://fundacionpaiz.org.gt/bap/.