Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

Comments on the Finalist 

CHEN Chao-Tung deconstructs physical quadrants into multiple layers in this exhibition, overlaying them with observational errors that dissolve and reset spatial logic. This results in a realm that resembles reality but defies logic. Meanwhile, it delineates the afterimages of human perception, offset from everyday narratives, amid endless refractions between materiality and space. These spatial replicas, refracted from various objects, lead viewers through different narratives within the space. Elegant installations serve as spatial filters and reshape our perception of the world, marking the deformations and folds in the visual field while transforming lived experience into perceptual recreation. The exhibition reminds us to observe those never-questioned rules in life and explore new possibilities unveiled by sensory experiences caused by dislocations of logic across different thresholds. (Commentator / TSUI Kuang-Yu)

Artwork Introduction  

Phantom Topographies—Chen Chao-Tung Solo Exhibition is based on the concept of “spatial layers” and integrates the Chiayi Art Museum’s architectural elements, such as ceiling trusses and structural features, to create, deconstruct, and expand the original spatial site. The exhibition divides the gallery space into front, middle, and back zones using grid-like steel frames and semi-translucent materials, revealing previously concealed architectural details and altering viewing boundaries through installations and material changes. The artworks are interconnected, employing diverse media to form a continuous narrative. Through displacement and reconfiguration, they guide visitors to actively participate through bodily movement, enabling them to re-perceive space and rediscover visual experience.

About the Artist 

CHEN Chao-Tung continuously investigates hidden vocabularies and visual anomalies within urban structures. From material changes to shifting viewing perspectives, his work uncovers spatial logics often concealed in daily life. Using installations and sculptures, he portrays everyday details and emotional memories, reshaping imagery and visual boundaries. By moving between urban and residential settings, he examines how humans perceive space and experience psychological shifts. His method involves assembling, displacing, and reconstructing spaces and objects to rearrange and redefine perception and narrative, thereby expanding his poetic experimentation with viewing perspective and structural sensibility.

Production Team

Production Assistance｜ Kao Fan, Chao Lin-Jay, Wang Ying-Kai, Liu Ting-Ying, Randy Yang, Hsu Yun-Hsuan

Installation Assistance｜ Kao Fan, Lai Jou-Hua, Chen Yan-Fu, Kuo En-Shuo

Lighting Design｜ LighTemp, Lei-Lan

Still Photography｜ Chiu Te-Hsin

Videography｜ Undersday Studio, Huang Huang-Chih

Interview Editing｜ Lin Hsiao-Hsi

Promotional design｜SunnyDance Creation Co.

English Translation｜Cheng I-Hsin