Lin Pey-Chwen

Lin Pey-Chwen (born 1959) is a Taiwanese artist known for her career spanning over three decades, focusing on contemporary art, including women's art, installation art, and digital art.

Early life and career
Lin Pey-Chwen, a Taiwanese artist, was born in Ping-tong County, Taiwan, in 1959. She received her Doctor of Creative Arts from the University of Wollongong, Australia, in 1996. Lin's career spans over 30 years, focusing on contemporary art, including women's art, installation art, and digital art.

After returning to Taiwan from the US in 1989, Lin held her first solo exhibition at the American Cultural Center and became a member of the contemporary art group Apartment 2. In 1998, she published Women Art Discourse, the first book on Taiwanese female artists, and co-founded the Taiwan Women's Art Association (TWAA), advocating for women in the Taiwanese art scene.

Lin's career expanded in 2010 when she began researching and curating exhibitions focused on digital art in Taiwan. She published the book Taiwan Digital Art E-Files, becoming a pioneer in Taiwanese digital art.

Throughout her career Lin has been involved in academia, serving as a professor and dean at universities in Taiwan, including the National Taiwan University of Arts and China University of Technology. She continues to lead the Lin Pey-Chwen Digital Arts Lab (which primarily conducts diverse interdisciplinary creative experiments using digital art media and techniques) and remains committed to exploring the intersection of technology, art, and society through her work.

Artworks
Lin Pey Chwen developed a feminist consciousness through her experiences studying and working abroad. Exposed to progressive ideas, she became aware of women's issues, particularly the exploitation of women's autonomy under patriarchy. This awareness prompted her to use her artwork as a platform to advocate for women's rights, believing that women have the right to express their inner thoughts freely.

Upon returning to Taiwan Lin embarked on a journey to explore and challenge societal norms surrounding women's roles and bodies. In 1995, she unveiled Speaking Through Painting at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, which attracted attention within the Taiwanese art scene. This piece received coverage in articles, critiques, and books on Taiwan's contemporary art history, contributing to its recognition within Taiwanese women's art history.

Lin's artistic vision is rooted in her feminist perspective, evident in her exploration of themes such as female oppression under patriarchy. Following the earthquake on September 21, 1999, known as 921 earthquake, Lin began delving into the relationship between humans and nature. This exploration culminated in her Return to Nature series, where she uses digital interfaces to depict the concept of "artificial nature", with butterflies serving as a central motif.

Lin began her Eve Clone series in 2006, envisioning and interpreting a post-human world. This series not only portrays feminine traits but also carries religious symbolism, relying heavily on digital technology while simultaneously critiquing the negative impacts of technology on society. The flawlessly perfect and hairless Eve appears both lifelike and artificial, embodying a state between organic and inorganic matter. Using the technique of 3D dynamic holographic photography, the Eve Clone series combines Eve's likeness with various animal forms, imbued with a mineral texture, to satirize the hidden dangers brought by technology and challenge societal constraints and restrictions imposed on the female body.

Exhibited from August 12 to September 2, 2011 as part of Lin's solo exhibition at Gallery Grand Siècle, the series includes four works: The Portrait of Eve Clone, Mass Production of Eve Clone, Revelation of Eve Clone, and The Inspection of Eve Clone. Influenced by the biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and their temptation to eat the forbidden fruit, these artworks explore themes of civilization's introspection and humanity's fall from grace.

In The Portrait of Eve Clone Eve is depicted as a hybrid of human and pupa, or even human and beast. Despite her remaining beauty, symbolizing the potential benefits of genetic modification, her face appears lifelessly cold, resembling metallic images of gold, silver, copper, iron, and kaolin. On Eve's forehead, characters of '666' in various human languages signify obstacles from which no race or people can escape.

Using high-tech materials like 3D holograms, Lin presents Eve Clone's image in multiple postures and eye expressions from every angle. Eve is enclosed within transparent acrylic frames, and viewers may also encounter an image of the beast from Revelation as they move in front of the artwork. Through changes in light and viewing angles, Eve's eyes appear to move and follow the audience, adding depth to the portrayal of this artificial creation.

Selected exhibition
The Revelation of Eve Clone: Lin Pey-Chwen Digital Art Lab Exhibition, held at the Tainan Art Museum and B.B. ART in 2020, showcased Lin Pey-Chewn's acclaimed Eve Clone series. This series delves into themes of feminism, the interaction between humanity and technology, and religious allegory. Central to the series is the figure of Eve Clone, which symbolizes both the allure and dangers of technology within patriarchal societies. Through cinematic references and visual motifs, Lin challenges conventional notions of creation and human ambition.

The exhibition highlighted Lin's thoughts related to Cyber sexualities issues, especially about cyborg. Augmented reality elements further enrich the viewer experience, blurring the boundaries between reality and virtuality. Lin's Eve Clone series also uses technology and multimedia to evoke fairy tales and imagination from the past, while provoking contemplation on human desires and the consequences of unchecked ambition. Eve Clone Series reveals social restrictions upon the female body as a symbol of trapped potential, critiquing the potential damage to mankind caused by technological advancements.

Lin's artistic achievements extend beyond this exhibition, with her works being featured in exhibitions worldwide, including prestigious venues such as the Queens Museum in New York, the Exit and Via Art Festival in France, the WRO Media Art Biennale in Poland, and the Taipei Biennial. She has received awards and recognitions for her contributions to new media art, including the Taiwan Chung-Shing Award, Taiwan Public Art Award, and the First Prize in the category of new media art at the Italy XII Florence Biennial of International Award in 2019.