The high crowns of snow-capped mountains shining from atar, The endless virgin landscape under the clear blue sky, The noble summits seen standing in the distance, And the unbounded fields where one’s soul at last finds peace; This, this is my native land… it is how Mongolian poet D.Natsagdorj described his native land in 1963 In November 2017, Hsiao-Chi Chu and Nobuo Takamori,
Outsiders Factory” guys from Taiwan contacted me and suggested the collaboration on the organization of Mongolia-Taiwanese contemporary art exchange project entitled
Is/In Land”. I immediately liked the idea of the project because, issue of land is becoming quite pressing now in Mongolia and, on the other hand, I was curious about what Mongolian and Taiwanese artists speak about economic, social, political and environmental aspects of the land use, given huge differences between these two realms. Compared to densely populated Taiwan, which is located in tiny island surrounded with ocean, Mongolia possesses 53 times larger, landlocked territory with only 3 million population, which is 7.7 times smaller than in Taiwan. Despite these differences and economic disparity, both countries seem share similar issues related with the usage of the land. In
Is/In Land” Mongolian Contemporary Art Support Association presents works of 6 outstanding artists: Enkhtaivan Ochirbat, Tuguldur Yondonjamts, Davaajargal Tsaschikher, Ganzug Sedbazar; Enkhbold Togmidshiirev and Munkhbolor Ganbold. They represent a younger generation of artists in Mongolia, who represent first beneficiaries of greater artistic freedom after the collapse of a repressed socialist system in 1990. While they were children, they had experienced harsh and chaotic period when the country was going through economic, social and ecological change. Artworks displayed in
Is/In Land” will speak about economic, spiritual and ethical associations related with the land. - Gantuya Badamgarav Mongolia and Taiwan seem to be very different, one is within the mainland, and the other is an island, but at the same time, they are both isolated geographically and historically. The project intends to allow young artists to communicate with each other. In addition to discussions regarding the exhibition and professional aspect, we also encourage artists to experience the landscape and culture that they have never seen before. Two Mongolian artists will set off to Taroko for residency around the time of the exhibition opening in Taipei, and the Taiwanese artists will also head off on their research trip to the highland area around the time of the Ulaanbaatar exhibition. The project may be the first exchange of contemporary art between Taiwan and Mongolia. However, we hope to inspire everyone to think of Asia from a brand new perspective. - TAKAMORI Nobuo