Cathy Hsiao and Nestor Siré: Made in Taiwan
Three innocuous words in English (or four Chinese characters) meant to signify provenance: Where does it come from? Who is responsible for its manufacture?
Which, of course, is a tiny island state whose ascent to technological/industrial might belies its size as a point of national pride, the mouse that continues to roar, supplying and powering our new digital world. But such was not always the case as many associated this label with low quality, cheap labor, and inferior materials.
So for the artists, both hailing from geographies born of modern-day revolution albeit under vastly opposite political dogmas, the title of their collaboration also suggests their shared allegiances as Davids versus Goliaths within our larger globalized economy. And unlike the ubiquitous American variation of “born or made in the USA” to symbolize our hyperbolic jingoism, Made in Taiwan conspicuously avoids beating its chest in fervor.
And how appropriate a place to stage such an intervention than the museum to deliberately embrace the awkward interrogation about race, ethnicity or country of origin through art and technology as geopoliticized consumer product.
My, how times have changed.