1985年我做了生平第一件單頻道錄像作品，命名為《關於米勒的晚禱》，關於《晚禱》這張畫我陸陸續續分別從1985至1992用不同的形式及媒材作了4件作品去詮釋這張畫，這張畫的作者是法國的畫家尚－法蘭索瓦·米勒（Jean-François Millet，1814－1875年）於1857 – 59 年之間所畫的，當時的我對於畫中的一對農夫在田地裡工作，因為聽到遠處教堂的鐘聲而放下手中的勞動工具，雙手緊握虔誠禱告的景象而感動，這一幕的田園風景，完全體現海德格所謂的「棲居如詩」，一種天、地、神、人的合諧生活景象，但就我當時所處的社會及世界，這美好的景象是一種無法企及的狀態，於是我拍攝畫冊裡的這張畫，另外拍攝了我提著攝影機直線衝撞草叢的影片，《晚禱》的畫面在影片裡以靜態的方式加上我還原了這個遠處教堂傳來的鐘聲，約每分鐘後穿插數秒暴力衝撞草叢的片段及聲音，兩個極俱衝突及反差的畫面及聲音交叉循環剪接，作品充滿了對《晚禱》所呈現的美好景象的懷疑及莫名不安的氣氛。

Born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1965

Now lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan

A pioneer of video art in Taiwan, Yuan Goang-Ming has worked with video since 1984, and is now one of the foremost Taiwanese artists active in the international media art circle. He received a master’s degree in media art from the Academy of Design, Karlsruhe Germany (1997), and currently holds a post as professor of the new media art department of the Taipei National University of Arts.

Combining symbolic metaphors with technological media, his work expresses the state of contemporary existence, and explores the human mind and consciousness. He received the 13^th Hsiung-Shih Art Award for the Best New Artist for his video and sculptural work Out of Position (1987) while he was still in art school in 1988. In 1992, his work Fish on a Dish garnered great acclaim in the Taiwanese art circle, and received the First Prize of the Taipei County Arts Award, while The Reason for Insomnia (1998) received the Jury Prize of the 1^st Digital Art Festival. His “City Disqualified” series (2002) holds an important place in the history of Taiwanese contemporary media art. 

Disappearing Landscape (2007) opens with a new format of moving images, combining video art and cinema, displaying the fascinating, theatrical everyday in three-channel video installations. The 2011 exhibition Before Memory continues his exploration of the idea of “home” and expands such exploration into ruins and nature, in a diverse array of large-scale installations about time and memory, the body and perception. His 2014 solo exhibition An Uncanny Tomorrow questions the environment we inhabit in a globalized context, pondering the anxieties and apprehensions of modern people. This exhibition received the Exhibition of the Year of the 13^th Taishin Arts Award. The 2018 solo exhibition Tomorrowland pivots around the idea that home in the future is no longer solid. The works are centered on the normalization and everydayness of warfare, embodying modern-day existence and human despair. The exhibition was also invited to the Hayward Gallery in London in 2018.

Yuan has participated in various exhibitions across Asia, Europe, and America. Among these include: Aichi Triennale (2019); Beyond Bliss: Bangkok Art Biennale (2018); Biennale de Lyon: La Vie Moderne, France (2015); Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale, Japan (2014); the 7^th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Australia (2012); Singapore Biennale (2008); Liverpool Biennial, U.K. (2004); Auckland Triennial, New Zealand (2004); Taiwan Pavilion at the 50^th Venice Biennale, Italy (2003); the 2^nd Seoul International Media Art Biennale, Korea (2002); 010101: Art in Technological Times at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2001); ICC Biennial, Japan (1997), and Taipei Biennial (2002,1998, 1996). 

His work is housed in public and private collections of art museums and institutions at home and abroad. He has also been on the Collections Committee of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, and a juror of the Taipei Arts Award, Taipei County Arts Award, Public Art, Venice Biennale (Taiwan Pavilion), and Asia Society Arts Award in the United States.