ARARIO GALLERY SEOUL presents Forbidden Love, a solo exhibition by SHIH Yung Chun (b. 1978, Taiwan), on view from October 16 (Thu) to December 6 (Sat), 2025. This marks the artist’s first solo presentation in Korea, where he unfolds his distinctive practice—spanning diverse forms and media—across all three floors of the gallery. The exhibition features three-dimensional miniature installations reminiscent of puppet-theater sets, paintings based on each of these stage-like scenes, and a video work that reconstructs the overarching narrative in cinematic form. A series of these puppet-theater sets—filled with vintage toy packaging and commercial goods evocative of the artist’s childhood—depict seven distinct scenes: kitchen, hallway, hotel room, street, bar, stage, and living room. The exhibition title, Forbidden Love, serves as a metaphor for the relationships formed among objects drawn from disparate eras and environments. At the same time, it reveals the irony of “forbidden” emotions—such as betrayal, rivalry, and desire—that lie latent within the bonds represented in each of the seven scenes, including maternal care, romantic affection between lovers, friendship, and the pursuit of one’s passion.
Growing up in a village near a military base during Taiwan’s period of economic revitalization, SHIH developed a deep sensitivity to the transient value of things quickly discarded and replaced amid rapid societal changes. His practice often begins with imagery drawn from 1980s product packaging, newspapers, and magazines—materials that recall the decade of his childhood. By placing articulated dolls into miniature, three-dimensional stages, SHIH reconfigures the grand narratives of sociocultural reality within his own microcosmic universe. These puppet-theater sets are then reimagined as large-scale, propaganda-style paintings and as a time-based cinematic narrative. Through this process, the static past is revived as a dynamic and fictionalized history. Rather than presenting a singular or linear storyline, SHIH invites viewers to interpret his work through their own diverse perspectives, encouraging multilayered reflections on its themes.
Curator：Park Miran
16 October – 6 December, 2025
ARARIO GALLERY Seoul
SHIH Yung Chun Solo Exhibition
Photo Credit : Courtesy of the artist and ARARIO GALLERY
Sponsored by Ministry of Culture, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
