Born in Miaoli in 1970, LIU Shin-Tung received his bachelor’s degree from Taipei National University of the Arts, Department of Art in 1994, and obtained his master’s degree from the same school in 2001. In 1998, he received a grant from the Asian Cultural Council in New York; in 2002, he received an art scholarship from the Shyi Der-Jinn Foundation; in 2001, he was awarded by the Taipei Awards; and 2001, he was selected as the artist-in-residence at the Young-un Museum of Contemporary Art in Korea. Liu was also selected as the artist-in-residence at the 18th Street Arts Center in the U.S. in 2010, and in 2011, he participated in the Asian Cultural Council Cultural Exchange Program for the residency program at the Morishita Studio in Tokyo, Japan. With extensive national and international experiences, Liu excels in video, landscape and installation art. His collage-inspired approach developed over the recent years also draws much attention from the art community in Taiwan.

With turtles brought to the highest summit in Taiwan, Mt. Jade, to be symbolically “set-free”, LIU Shin-Tung’s interesting performance art reminds us of the importance of land and environmental conservation. Contemplating the balance between urban (civilization) and nature (ecology), an attempt is made to construct the necessary ethical narrative between the two, which incites for deeper reflection. Due to the artwork’s experimental quality and its powerful interpretation of ecological issues and environmental aestheticism, it has since been regarded as an important postmartial- law artwork in the related field in Taiwan.

As an artist with extensive academic trainings, Liu began demonstrating exceptional creativity at an early stage. As seen with his earlier works from the 90s, such as Eternal Mother and Joy Luck Monster, with a highly experimental spirit, he explores landscapes and objects as he studies ecological topics. For the exhibition project, Land Ethic, launched in 1998, he began the performance documentary piece titled Regeneration, which is regarded as an important stage in Liu’s creative career. This artwork presents multiple reflections for the interconnected relationships between the land, ecology, and human behaviors. During a time of subjectivity reconstruction after the lift of martial law in Taiwan, this artwork incited many diverse discussions and responses, and has become a core artwork in the developmental course of ecology art in Taiwan.

Since 2001, Liu has gradually turned from spatial installations to graphic art. He “captures” segments of various cultural landscapes and applies montage techniques to give childlike, poetic and poignant observations/representations of our living environment. His solo exhibitions, Start From Eyes (2009) and Breeze (2011), are all critical events that have been derived from such experimental approach. Through physical labors and sensitive nomadic observations and gatherings, Liu takes diverse cultural documents and seemingly stores them within the square realm of the canvas and within the round heaven and earth. His critical works present subtle reflections, with the simulations of life’s forms intermixing together with the various scenarios from the social life, as expressions and realizations acknowledged from the everyday life are also incorporated. His prolific art reveals the open spirit that the artist embodies, as the works present playful, poetic, and sharp observations and representations of the contemporary environment.