LT
For three months, the SODAS 2123 A-I-R Programme will host Taiwanese artist Yun-Pei Hsiung, who was selected through an open call to develop a new socially engaged project reflecting on historical acts of collective resistance and their relevance today.
Yun-Pei Hsiung (b. 1985, Taipei) is an artist whose practice centres on social intervention and public engagement. Employing methods of social sculpture, he initiates participatory actions that often explore queer identity, public space, social housing, neo-capitalism, and the geopolitical complexities of Taiwan. With a background in product design, Yun-Pei is driven by creating tools, games, and participatory platforms that encourage collective involvement. His projects remain open-ended, unfolding through interaction and collaboration. Alongside these socially focused works, drawing plays an important role in his personal practice, serving as a space to explore and express his queer Asian identity.
During his residency in Vilnius, Yun-Pei will focus on the Baltic Way, the historic 1989 peaceful demonstration in which nearly two million people joined hands to form a 600-kilometre human chain across Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Through archival research, interviews, and reflections on Taiwan’s own “Hand-in-Hand Safeguard Taiwan” movement, Yun-Pei’s project will examine the emotional and symbolic power of collective gestures in the face of geopolitical tension. By investigating the motivations behind the Baltic Way and its impact on national identity and political change, the artist will explore how such actions might inspire future strategies for resistance and solidarity in Taiwan and beyond.
Yun-Pei Hsiung’s residency is organized in collaboration with Taiwan-based international art collective Hyper Wave and the Taipei Representative Office in Germany.
The activities of SODAS 2123 are supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Vilnius city municipality.