Shifting Connections is a collective experience that must be realized together with a minimum of ten others, rather than a private, individual immersion. In this non-narrative exploration in the virtual space, the body is reduced to its most fundamental geometric presence: points, lines, and nodes. Scattered light transforms as lines weave between bodies, forming a living world shaped by movement.

 

This latest work by CHOU Tung-Yen: Shifting Connections was commissioned by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) in 2025.  It was first presented in the museums group exhibition Entanglement: The Rhythm of Being, opening May 5 at TFAM (until September 20, 2026). The exhibition conceptually echoes a phenomenon revealed by modern physics: at the quantum level, indivisible connections occur between certain particles. Such a perspective reminds us that existence may not be composed exclusively of mutually discrete individuals, but more like a relational whole in which myriads of things interconnect, interact, and give birth to one another. Informed by the concepts of contemporary museum studies, the exhibition features eleven art projects by contemporary artists and collectives, including this new commissioned work Shifting Connections by CHOU Tung-Yen / Very Theatre. NB: Shifting Connections was selected in the Venice Immersive Competition 2026.

 

The exhibition explores how advances in technology caused overlaps among the past, present, and future within the conventional linear view of time. They ponder how humans understand their relationships with other species, the environment, and the world. It also examines three dimensions: how humans and non-humans collectively interpret the world, how technology augments humanity’s senses and perceptions of time and space, and how we may become “symbiotic agents.” In this way, we may perceive the ‘Umwelten’ of other species (how they subjectively perceive their environments), which were originally beyond our reach. This process of choice and intervention that breaks the linear progression of time challenges us to rethink our ethical responsibilities. The exhibition venue is designed as a space for visitor perception and practice, facilitating resonance and empathy that foster new ethics and values of sharing, mutual aid, and symbiosis.

 

Participating Artists: Sonja BÄUMEL, Céline CLANET, CHOU Tung-Yen / Very Theatre, LU Ming-Te, PENG Hung-Chih, Simple Noodle Art, Hito STEYERL, NOIZ Architects, TSAI Pou-Ching, WU Chi-Yu＋CHEN Pu, YAMASHIRO Chikako, and curator Sharleen YU.

 

TAIPEI FINE ARTS MUSEUM (TFAM)
No.181, Sec. 3, Zhongshan N. Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City 104227, Taiwan

Open: 9.30 – 17.30 / Saturday till 20.30 / Closed on Mondays

Tickets: 30 NTD (approx. 1 euro / 1 $)

Website: https://www.tfam.museum/index.aspx?ddlLang=en-us)

 

HOW TO GET THERE:

By MRT (Metro): Take the MRT Tamsui-Xinyi Red Line to Yuanshan Station. Exit 1, and follow the pedestrian trail through Art Park of the Taipei Expo Park, turning left onto Zhongshan North Road Section 3. The Museum will be on your right.

By Bus: Take routes 21, 42, 42 shuttle, 203, 208, 218, 218 Express, 247, 247 shuttle, 260, 260 shuttle, 277, 279, 287 shuttle, 310, 612, 1717, 2022, 9006, Red 2, Neihu Metro Bus, Zhongshan Express or Taipei Sightseeing Bus Blue to the Taipei Fine Arts Museum stop.

  • Bus stop location: Northbound (toward Shihlin and Dazhi) buses stop in front of the museum. Southbound (toward Taipei Main Station) buses stop at the intersection of Zhongshan N. Road Section 3 and the Taipei Expo Park Trail.
  • Only northbound bus routes 203, 277, 279, 612 stop at the museum.
  • Bus routes Red 2 and 21 are handicap accessible.