On the surface, LIGHT is a simple installation using spotlights and filters. But there is a bit more to the history behind the project, which explains why I chose the kind of lights and made the kind of installation that I did.

The exhibition took place at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), located on the corner of 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue.

The spotlights used in my work, though, were purchased from an auction held by TECO when the institute was closing down its former location at Rockefeller Center.

Using materials from its past location, therefore, emphasizes the continuity of the cultural institute.  

In addition, as the space of TECO’s new office was not originally designed as a gallery, displaying “objets d’art” proper would seem inappropriate--at least to me.

Therefore, I sought to present my work in such a way that it could be seen, but not touched. This interplay of presence and absence is both a fitting tribute to TECO’s two locations and a play on the space’s “utilitarian” function.