14th Taipei Biennial 2025: Whispers on the Horizon
Curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath
Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan
1 November 2025 – 29 March 2026

Whispers on the Horizon explores yearning as an enduring human drive that reaches past the possible, knowing it will never hold, and still refuses to yield. It is both personal and collective, fragile and defiant; the thread that connects longing to imagination and change. The exhibition expresses a desire to speak about the future in a tone of quiet insistence rather than overt proclamation. “Whispers” evokes the fragility of communication—voices that endure even in silence, stories that persist despite erasure. The “Horizon” marks the meeting line between what is known and what is hoped for. Together, they suggest that the faintest murmur can redraw distance, and the smallest gesture can reshape how we imagine the world.

The conceptual foundation of this edition draws from three modest yet charged objects—though absent from the physical exhibition, they serve as metaphors guiding the show’s emotional and temporal arc. The puppet of Li Tien-Lu, featured in Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s film The Puppetmaster(1993), represents a life dedicated to craft, embodying persistence across periods of occupation and renewal; the diary from Chen Yingzhen’s short story My Kid Brother Kangxiong (1960) conveys the voice of a young man who took his own life, torn between faith and despair, reflecting a generation caught between conviction and disillusion; the bicycle from Wu Ming-Yi’s novel The Stolen Bicycle (2015) symbolizes a son’s search for his missing father, evoking themes of loss, inheritance, and belonging. Together, these literary and cinematic references form an invisible architecture for the Biennial, with the puppet representing continuity, the diary interiority, and the bicycle pursuit—three distinct expressions of yearning that resonate throughout the exhibition.

The Biennial interweaves contemporary works with ones from the Taipei Fine Arts Museum’s collection. Around 30 TFAM collection pieces are placed throughout the exhibition in dialogue with both new commissions and existing works. A broad selection of photographs from the 1930s–80s forms a subtle thread running through the Biennial, echoing its three conceptual departure points: the puppet, the diary, and the bicycle. Additional pieces appear in formal or thematic resonance with individual artworks across the exhibition. They act not merely as historical artifacts but as living agents of yearning that bridge continuity and transformation. This curatorial approach fosters an intergenerational dialogue between those who shaped Taiwan’s cultural landscape and those addressing today’s urgency.

The exhibition architecture, specially conceived for this edition, features textile partitions in place of solid walls. These suspended elements function as permeable thresholds, arranged to allow sightlines between galleries and create a rhythm of visibility and connection. This spatial strategy echoes the thematic undercurrents of the Biennial, inviting a fluid and contemplative visitor experience. In addition, concise wall texts function as a self-guided tour, offering visitors clear context for each work on display and opening accessible pathways into the ideas shaping the Biennial.