Venice Biennale Taiwan Pavilion Grand Opening: Black Humor Creates Fantastical Scenes
The Taiwan Pavilion at the 61st Venice International Art Biennale has grandly opened, featuring artist Lee Yi-Fan's 60-minute black humor video work, "Screen Melancholy." This piece subverts the boundaries between fear and comedy, exploring "hell memes" of the digital age and showcasing Taiwan's unique creativity to the world.
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- 📰 Published: May 8, 2026 at 10:20
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Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Huang Ya-shih, Venice, 8th) Audiences from various countries sat on limb-shaped chairs, intently watching the monologue of a morbidly distorted protagonist on a giant screen, yet bursts of laughter occasionally erupted. This fantastical scene appeared at the opening of the Taiwan Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale, where artist Lee Yi-Fan's 60-minute black humor video work subverted the boundaries between fear and comedy, earning high praise from viewers for Taiwan's unique creativity.
This year marks the 61st Venice International Art Biennale, and the Taiwan Pavilion is, as usual, exhibited at the Palazzo delle Prigioni, adjacent to St. Mark's Square. Taiwan's representative artist, Lee Yi-Fan, born in Taipei in 1989, is the youngest participant ever. He excels at creating works using sculpture, painting, video projection, and technology game engines, exploring the relationship between humanity and technology through monologues.
Lee Yi-Fan specifically created a new work for the Taiwan Pavilion, "Screen Melancholy." Upon entering the exhibition hall, a huge screen in the center displays a video featuring a protagonist with sunken cheeks and pale skin. Scattered throughout the venue are specially made giant head, hand, and foot sculptures, echoing the history of the Palazzo delle Prigioni, which was formerly a prison. The eerie atmosphere created a novel experience for many visitors upon entry.
However, when international audiences saw the protagonist's monologue, alternating between English and Chinese, narrating various "hell memes" of the digital age, laughter continuously erupted. For example, it satirized "how modern people should cry," suggesting that crying for more than 3 seconds is inefficient in the age of short videos, or eventually realizing that even tears need AI post-production.
Lee Yi-Fan stated in an exclusive interview with the Central News Agency that he usually envisioned a Chinese-speaking audience in the past. This time, for the Venice exhibition, he made considerable efforts to come up with English jokes that would resonate with an international audience.
"In the process of finding humor and memes, I realized that this is actually an issue of identity, because you need to understand the same things to laugh," Lee Yi-Fan said. He also likes a state where some people laugh at parts of the work and some don't, "so those who don't laugh will feel like they missed something."
The curator of this year's Taiwan Pavilion is Raphael Fonseca, a Brazilian-born curator currently residing in Portugal. He told the Central News Agency that the Taiwan Pavilion has received much positive feedback since its opening, with many viewers sharing recommendations on social media, urging everyone to visit. He was also surprised that many viewers stayed to watch the entire 60-minute video during the busy Biennale.
Fonseca, who has collaborated with numerous international artists, believes that what impressed him most about Lee Yi-Fan is his excellent skill in non-linear editing and his incredibly fast working speed, capable of creating 30 minutes of video in a single day. "To create such a multifaceted yet coherent narrative is by no means easy."
Fabio Bressanello, a local Venetian photographer, told the Central News Agency that he visits the Taiwan Pavilion exhibition every year. He saw the crowd filling the exhibition hall this year, indicating the unprecedented success and record-breaking attendance. He emphasized that the exhibition's visuals deeply impacted him, making him want to further explore the narrative's context.
From the 7th for three consecutive days, the Taiwan Pavilion also specially invited Korean artist Eunju Hong to perform the dance "When I Cry with Joy, She is Heartbroken." Eunju Hong's performance, with crawling and twisting movements with dolls, echoed Lee Yi-Fan's work.
The Taiwan Pavilion held its opening press conference on the evening of the 7th, attended by Deputy Minister of Culture Wang Shih-sze, Director of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum Lo Li-chen, Representative to Italy Tsai Yun-chung, and Director of the Milan Office Lin Tsan-nan.
Wang Shih-sze stated in her speech that for 30 years, the Taiwan Pavilion has continuously expressed its views through art, overcoming numerous challenges to convey positive voices in global society. This year, Taiwan's cultural influence is not only in Venice but also in over a dozen European countries with the Taiwan Human Rights Film Festival. Her badge represents the European Taiwan Cultural Year, symbolizing the increasingly close ties between Taiwan and Europe. Taiwan hopes to share its vitality and stories in Europe and looks forward to building new friendships and deep cooperation with various countries.
Lo Li-chen stated in her speech that this is the fifth time the Taiwan Pavilion has participated with a single artist. Lee Yi-Fan's work demonstrates Taiwan's unique creativity. The Taiwan Pavilion is a door, inviting everyone to open it and appreciate the garden of contemporary Taiwanese art, and also hopes that everyone will come to Taiwan to enjoy the full artistic landscape at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. (Editor: Chen Cheng-kung) 1150508
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(Central News Agency reporter Huang Ya-shih, Venice, 8th) Audiences from various countries sat on limb-shaped chairs, intently watching the monologue of a morbidly distorted protagonist on a giant screen, yet bursts of laughter occasionally erupted. This fantastical scene appeared at the opening of the Taiwan Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale, where artist Lee Yi-Fan's 60-minute black humor video work subverted the boundaries between fear and comedy, earning high praise from viewers for Taiwan's unique creativity.
This year marks the 61st Venice International Art Biennale, and the Taiwan Pavilion is, as usual, exhibited at the Palazzo delle Prigioni, adjacent to St. Mark's Square. Taiwan's representative artist, Lee Yi-Fan, born in Taipei in 1989, is the youngest participant ever. He excels at creating works using sculpture, painting, video projection, and technology game engines, exploring the relationship between humanity and technology through monologues.
Lee Yi-Fan specifically created a new work for the Taiwan Pavilion, "Screen Melancholy." Upon entering the exhibition hall, a huge screen in the center displays a video featuring a protagonist with sunken cheeks and pale skin. Scattered throughout the venue are specially made giant head, hand, and foot sculptures, echoing the history of the Palazzo delle Prigioni, which was formerly a prison. The eerie atmosphere created a novel experience for many visitors upon entry.
However, when international audiences saw the protagonist's monologue, alternating between English and Chinese, narrating various "hell memes" of the digital age, laughter continuously erupted. For example, it satirized "how modern people should cry," suggesting that crying for more than 3 seconds is inefficient in the age of short videos, or eventually realizing that even tears need AI post-production.
Lee Yi-Fan stated in an exclusive interview with the Central News Agency that he usually envisioned a Chinese-speaking audience in the past. This time, for the Venice exhibition, he made considerable efforts to come up with English jokes that would resonate with an international audience.
"In the process of finding humor and memes, I realized that this is actually an issue of identity, because you need to understand the same things to laugh," Lee Yi-Fan said. He also likes a state where some people laugh at parts of the work and some don't, "so those who don't laugh will feel like they missed something."
The curator of this year's Taiwan Pavilion is Raphael Fonseca, a Brazilian-born curator currently residing in Portugal. He told the Central News Agency that the Taiwan Pavilion has received much positive feedback since its opening, with many viewers sharing recommendations on social media, urging everyone to visit. He was also surprised that many viewers stayed to watch the entire 60-minute video during the busy Biennale.
Fonseca, who has collaborated with numerous international artists, believes that what impressed him most about Lee Yi-Fan is his excellent skill in non-linear editing and his incredibly fast working speed, capable of creating 30 minutes of video in a single day. "To create such a multifaceted yet coherent narrative is by no means easy."
Fabio Bressanello, a local Venetian photographer, told the Central News Agency that he visits the Taiwan Pavilion exhibition every year. He saw the crowd filling the exhibition hall this year, indicating the unprecedented success and record-breaking attendance. He emphasized that the exhibition's visuals deeply impacted him, making him want to further explore the narrative's context.
From the 7th for three consecutive days, the Taiwan Pavilion also specially invited Korean artist Eunju Hong to perform the dance "When I Cry with Joy, She is Heartbroken." Eunju Hong's performance, with crawling and twisting movements with dolls, echoed Lee Yi-Fan's work.
The Taiwan Pavilion held its opening press conference on the evening of the 7th, attended by Deputy Minister of Culture Wang Shih-sze, Director of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum Lo Li-chen, Representative to Italy Tsai Yun-chung, and Director of the Milan Office Lin Tsan-nan.
Wang Shih-sze stated in her speech that for 30 years, the Taiwan Pavilion has continuously expressed its views through art, overcoming numerous challenges to convey positive voices in global society. This year, Taiwan's cultural influence is not only in Venice but also in over a dozen European countries with the Taiwan Human Rights Film Festival. Her badge represents the European Taiwan Cultural Year, symbolizing the increasingly close ties between Taiwan and Europe. Taiwan hopes to share its vitality and stories in Europe and looks forward to building new friendships and deep cooperation with various countries.
Lo Li-chen stated in her speech that this is the fifth time the Taiwan Pavilion has participated with a single artist. Lee Yi-Fan's work demonstrates Taiwan's unique creativity. The Taiwan Pavilion is a door, inviting everyone to open it and appreciate the garden of contemporary Taiwanese art, and also hopes that everyone will come to Taiwan to enjoy the full artistic landscape at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. (Editor: Chen Cheng-kung) 1150508
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.