TcAM Art Commission awarded to Haegue Yang and Michael Lin

TcAM is delighted to announce two prominent commissions rendering its spaces by international artists. Their commissions resonate with the building’s visual permeability—inside and out—as well as the museum’s identity, which is integrated with its ecological and cultural landscape. Facilitating a discourse between art, environment, and location, the commissions are planned on a biennial basis to serve as landmarks in the everyday life of urban residents.

Among the highlights is a monumental installation, Liquid Votive – Tree Shade Triad (2025, hereafter referred to as Liquid Votive) by renowned South Korea-born artist, Haegue Yang, which will be Yang’s first large-scale commissioned piece in Taiwan. Inspired by the universal tradition of venerating old trees in various cultures, her piece inhabits the museum’s soaring 27-meter atrium, not only responding to the vertically stretched architecture, but also paying homage to the local as well as transculturally rooted beliefs in nature, such as a big tree.

Liquid Votive exemplifies the museum’s vision through her signature venetian blinds. Informed by her field research in Taichung, the cultural symbolism of sacred trees guided the work’s conception. In various cultures around the world, from Taiwan (dashugong) to Korea (dangsan namu), old giant trees have served as important communal sites not only for physical gatherings, but also for spiritual bonds. This concept of communal guidance and spiritual leadership is considered in Liquid Votive. The suspended, spiraling structure of the work is an analogy for the cosmic tree and strives to activate the space while honoring local animistic traditions.

In Yang’s practice, she employs a distinctive visual language across diverse media, offering viewers a varied range of visual and sensory experiences. Yang is the best candidate to showcase successfully the relationship between artistic creation and architectural space. The Liquid Votive – Tree Shade Triad responds not only to the extraordinary soaring space marked by its elegant ramp, but also to nature and cultural significance, guiding the audience to experience a unique artistic journey.

—Lai Yi-hsin, Director of the Taichung Art Museum, 2025

‘Planting’ an inaugural piece in TcAM’s elegant and serene space is a big honor.
This ‘giant tree’ will accompany our first encounter with the elevating trail, presenting views toward both the interior and exterior.

A walk around Liquid Votive will set our contemplative minds in motion toward a communal time.

—Haegue Yang, 2025