Mino Shih

Untitled (draped over field of grass), 2018

oil and pen on canvas
22 x 20 in.

Salmon Living Room, 2019

oil on canvas
46 x 49 in.

Untitled, 2018

oil and coloured pencil on canvas
66 x 24 in.

three tries at conflict, 2018

oil and acrylic on canvas
86 x 48in.

Artist Statement

I make paintings on canvas in layers of colours and architectural structures that create a situation in the image involving the tension of change and stagnancy, with potential for disruption. My work is motivated by an investigation into the history of White Terror in Taiwan. Particular focus is put on the totalitarian state that manifests itself in the past through an intricate web of mechanisms for control over all aspects of civilian life, and in the present, through the potent leftovers of this web of surveillance. My paintings evoke the kind of time that has transformed into remainders, but retains the ability to contaminate. I use warm colours such as pinks and yellows in my paintings to create a false foundation for domestic calmness, which is invaded by immaterial structures outlined by atmospheric colours to reveal the domestic betrayal of itself. This is to imitate the inside of a dishonest situation, both in the form of architecture, and in the form of interaction.