Shan Wu

Shan Wu is is an interdisciplinary artist born and raised in Taiwan and currently resides in the US. She received her MFA in Film and Video and Integrated Media Program at the California Institute of the Arts. Shan Wu’s practice aims to take apart misconceptions and unveil the systematic structures of power which are endemic both to the personal and to society at large. An advocate for Taiwan’s sovereignty in particular, Shan tackles social and political issues through investigating the role of technology, language, and symbols in the formation of one’s ideology, and by creating works that tell resonant stories of injustice. While her practice ranges across a broad array of forms, content, and contexts, she primarily works in sculpture, video, and installation. She holds particular interest in the tools and technology used for censorship, the rigidity and ambiguity in politics, and cultural symbols. The individual’s stories often form the core of Shan’s work, which portray a narrative through multiplication, transformation, and manipulation.

Shan Wu is a former resident of Vermont Studio Center, Taiwan Environment and Sculpture Association, and The Residency Project. She participated in the Punch/Gallery One Visiting Artist Program. Her work has been exhibited at venues including the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, York Art Gallery, Xiamen Nordic Contemporary Art Center, and Santa Paula Art Museum. Her film has won the Best Experimental Film award at the Brussels Independent Film Festival, the Tim Disney Prize for Excellence in the Storytelling Arts and screened internationally.