| LEE Shi-Chi Studio |
War Bets on Peace Lee Shi-Chi is the only participating artist from the infamous village of Guningtou, Kinmen, where, on August 23, 1958, the mainland army dropped over 470,000 artillery shells and 10,000 Kinmen citizens lost their lives. Outside a bunker, Lee creates an outdoor canopy with 823 specially designed sorghum liquor bottles (the number signifying August 23) shaped like artillery shells. Inside, a gambling machine with prizes invites visitors to place bets. The top prize is a special liquor that commemorates the infamous battle. This interactive installation turns the commemorative site to the violence of war into an aesthetic game, through which visitors can contemplate the meaning of survival, memory and peace. Born in 1938, Lee Shi-Chi was educated at National Taipei Normal College's Fine Arts Department. In 1958, Lee founded the Modern Printmaking Association in an effort to break through political barriers surrounding regional artistic practice and foster artistic freedom and independence. Since 1959, Lee has participated in major international exhibitions and has had several solo shows, including a retrospective in 1996 at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum as well as a solo show in 2000 that toured to South Korea, Japan, New York and Hong Kong. Lee is dedicated to promoting contemporary art in Taiwan and is a pioneer in advocating the development of art exchange across the Taiwan Strait. |
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