“Migration Is an Issue That Affects Everyone”: An Interview With Yu-Wen Wu
Photo by Edward Boches. Courtesy of Yu-Wen Wu.
Yu-Wen Wu is a Taiwanese-born interdisciplinary artist based in Boston. In her work, she examines migration, displacement, assimilation, and identity using mediums like large-scale drawings, site-specific video installations, community-engaged practices, and public art. One of her most notable recent pieces, Walking to Taipei, was inspired by a Google search for directions from Boston to Taipei when Wu could not afford airfare to visit her sick grandmother in Taiwan. Her beautiful outdoor art installations in San Francisco and Boston called Lantern Stories celebrate each city’s Chinatown, Chinese American history, and culture. Wu’s work has been shown far and wide, from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., to the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece. In this interview, Wu discusses her migration experience and her art practice with IMPULSE journalist Madeleine Aitken.
MA: When did you immigrate to the US, and what brought you here?
YWW: I emigrated from Taiwan at the age of six with my parents and younger brother. At the time, Taiwan was under martial law, but because my father was accepted into a master’s program in the United States, we were able to leave Taiwan. My parents saw this as a huge opportunity for my immediate family but sadly, my grandmother and other family members had to remain behind.
Yu-Wen Wu's work, installation view. 2023 James and Audrey Foster Prize, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023-24. Photo by Mel Taing. Courtesy of the artist.
MA: How/when did you start exploring (im)migration as a theme in your work?
YWW: Immigration has been an issue I have always cared about, and having to leave my grandmother in Taiwan had a huge impact on me, as you saw in Walking to Taipei. Migration became part of my art practice as early as 2010. Rarely does one want to leave family, friends, or homeland for the unknown and often perilous new beginnings. It was in this body of work that I began to think of how I would represent “belonging/s” — the things we take with us when we leave our homeland and what we leave behind. This led to Leavings/ Belongings (2018), a durational project that amplifies the voice of the refugee and immigrant narrative. Working with refugee and immigrant communities in various cities, this exhibit is community-inclusive and comprises multiple components, including sculptural installations of cloth-wrapped bundles that represent all that is left behind, text, photography, and video.
MA: Over an illustrious career, you’ve exhibited your work across the US: Iowa, California, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. You’ve also exhibited internationally — in South Korea, Colombia, Switzerland, and your native Taiwan. Do you find the reception of your work differs between states or in the US versus abroad?
YWW: Migration is an issue that affects everyone, yet each exhibit affects the viewer in different ways, opening opportunities for meaningful discussion. There has been little difference in the way my work is received across the country, perhaps because the work is shown in the context of migration. Generally, I find people are moved and relate to the ideas behind my work.
Yu-Wen Wu, Walking to Taipei (2010/2022). Mixed media on Dura-Lar rice paper, acrylic scroll ends, wooden scroll box, 20'' x 20'. Courtesy of the artist.
MA: Walking to Taipei is such an amazingly intricate piece — how did it change over the course of the decade you spent working on it?
YWW: Walking to Taipei definitely underwent different iterations before I landed on how I wanted the work to exist. When I first Googled instructions for walking to Taipei, I was shocked to see a set of 2,052 directions appear on my computer screen. I printed out a 95-page document and wasn’t quite sure how I would approach this project. Once I began to think of the journey unfolding in the traditional format of an Asian scroll, it was a matter of carefully mapping the thousands of instructions. The detailed work was all-consuming. It took almost ten years to complete it as I needed to work on other projects and had other commitments. But I am very happy with the final piece.
MA: Have recent social and political changes impacted the way you feel about living and working in the US? Do you feel like the perception of immigrants, and immigrant artists specifically, has changed?
YWW: At times, the political climate has made me sad and frustrated at the misunderstanding of the current immigrant situation. Immigrants have made such diverse, innovative contributions in so many sectors of this country. On the other hand, there has been an awakening in the art world with new opportunities for diasporic artists to share their lived experiences through their work. I feel there is an increased willingness to “listen” to alternative narratives and challenge established views in the art world.
Yu-Wen Wu, Lantern Stories. Auntie Kay and Uncle Frank Chin Park, Boston, MA. August – November 16, 2022. Photo by Mel Taing, courtesy of the artist.
MA: So much of your work is public art: Lantern Stories in Boston and San Francisco, The Poetry of Reason, and We Belong, etc. Why do you think public art is important for the themes of immigration and identity that you are working with? What do you like about creating it? Have there been any surprising responses from viewers that gave you an unexpected perspective?
YWW: I love the idea of bringing my work outside of museums and galleries and into public spaces. To have people encounter art in the city, on the streets, or in a park is a wonderful surprise. As an example, Lantern Stories displayed the history of Chinese immigration in two cities on the East and West Coast. The images on the lanterns highlight the history and culture of the Chinese immigrant community, as well as its strong commitment to education, the arts, entrepreneurship, and social justice. Tourists and local residents encountered the lanterns swaying in the breeze, illuminated at night, as they entered Boston’s and San Francisco’s Chinatowns. In the same way, We Belong, a light-based public artwork first installed in East Boston and now housed in Boston City Hall, promotes the idea of belonging and inclusion with a simple LED neon work that forms the text: “We belong here together guided by the same stars.” It is a joyous statement that reminds us of our common humanity.
Yu-Wen Wu, Acculturation, installation view. 2023 James and Audrey Foster Prize, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2023-24. Photo by Mel Taing. Courtesy of the artist.
