Taipei Biennial 2025 Explores Longing and Geopolitics Through Art

Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath curated the 14th Taipei Biennial, titled 'Whispers on the Horizon,' at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. The exhibition featured Anna Jermolaewa's 'On the Line' (2013/25), which installed three Soviet-era payphones to evoke themes of unfulfilled connection. Ciou Zih-Yan's 'Fake Airfield' (2025) presented a cardboard replica of a Zero fighter plane, referencing a decoy airbase from Taiwan's Japanese colonial era. The biennial engaged with local modernist literature, diasporic memory, and Indigenous cosmologies, reflecting Taiwan's complex history between Japanese rule, Kuomintang governance, and Chinese territorial claims. It used the horizon as a metaphor for perpetual longing, drawing visitors into emotional and collective yearning.