Works by Yuma Taru

Yuma Taru / Atayal people / Taiwan b.1963 / The spiral of life — the tongue of the cloth (yan pala na hmali) — a mutual dialogue 2021 / Ramie suspended from metal threads / 500 x 250cm (diam.); installed dimensions variable / Commissioned for APT10 / © Yuma Taru / Image courtesy: The artist and Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Cultural Development Centre

The Atayal people do not have written records, so in all dialogues, when a language was needed, it usually appeared in the form of ballads. This process of duet singing requires some wisdom and profound language, so the elderly advised that words should be like cloth, soft and flexible, expressed without hurting one other.

As soft as cloth, wise communication is like weaving the gauze. Communication between people in the world relies on language and information after the development of civilization. Human language and scientific information are woven together to form contemporary information exchange.

The Atayal people believe that a person’s life is heaven’s work of weaving. And the textile of an Atayal woman is a circle when completed. “The Circle of Life” adopts this circle. The intersection of different circles is like interlacing between people, and the reason why each circle retains a gap is to always be open and welcome people who are destined to join through the existing gap of life. Such an open and positive outlook of life is like everyone holding hands and dancing around in a circle, leaving a spot for the next companion to join the celebration.