BIO:

Born in Taiwan in 1989, NAIFE WU lives and works in London, Berlin and Taipei. Naifei is an emerging artist, working primarily in video, installation, performance and other post-studio practices. Centering around topics such as translation, mediation, empirical experiences and cognitive models, an inter-personal approach is often employed in her works in the form of playful and open-ended framework that invites participation from the public.

Her residency at Zaratan is supported by the National Culture and Arts Foundation, Taiwan.

WEBSITE:
www.naifeiwu.com

PROJECT:
Semear | What makes a word real? Who has the power to decide? Is a word real only when a lexicographer compiles it into the dictionary? In Semear, the arbitrary relationship of a symbol and what it signifies, how this relation can be artificially produced, and, furthermore, how a symbol (a word) interacts with a structured —and in some way authoritative— system (the language) are playfully investigated.

Nearly 100 participants from Lisbon are invited to join this experiment for 21 days. During the time, they are asked to use a specific made-up word, “climiçoso,” meaning the feeling of laziness due to weather conditions. Every day, each person has to use this word at least once, either by saying it or writing it in the communication with other Portuguese speakers. Through the act of using it, the word enters the language, and possibly becomes “real” someday when “a large number” of people know and agree on what it means.

As a foreigner trying to invent a word and “plant” it in Portuguese, this project stands for my attempts to know more about the culture(s) and people in Lisbon — the choice to come up with this word is not a coincidence. It is closely related to my social, cultural and even political observations here— despite that some personal humor or perspective is hard to be avoided. Moreover, the process functions as a metaphorical act that opens up further sociolinguistic discussions and artistic inquiries, with hopefully a warm interpersonal approach that is often seen in my projects.

PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS:
Artist Talk | 06/01/2018
Open Studio | 08-09-10-11/02/18