" On Dream of Birth” features Shiwei's best and most comfortable techniques. Through combing photography with Chinese and Western esthetics of print, she once again presents herself in nude to art and audience.

A milk-coated body shows gradual movements, attempting to feel, to break, to make contact with the existing yet unfamiliar world. It reflects the uncertainty and fear of every fetus before parting with the mother body and stepping into the world. It is, unequivocally, a confident and ambitious yet risky art statement that stimulates extraordinary visual impact. The exquisite visual arrangement is illuminated no better by the very organic setting of Shiwei’s piece.

Upon entering the artist's show room, one's eyes are set on the photographic work displayed under dim light, a project device aiming at a bathtub filled with milk, and the artist's solo action art. Under close observation, one may realize that he or her has just completed a fractal travel from one end of the globe to another, from the past to modernity. This is a journey made possible by the artist's brilliant choice of marbling paper, which had first appeared in the compilation "Wen Pang Si Pu" of acclaimed Song Dynasty calligrapher Su Yijian before it was introduced to France by the 17th Century European travelers who were searching for paper samples in the Middle East. Subsequently, the essences of Chinese and Western books are revived by digital media technology of the presence. The visuals reinforce the existence, organic body, emotion, sentiment, imagination, hope, and su!erings of each viewer. It inflicts extraordinarily abstract feelings while viciously invading everyone's vision.

The integration of action art and imagery manifested in "On Dream of Birth" is a careful re-presentation and examination of the artist's series of photographic work. This manifestation helps the viewers to see and understand the creative process and struggles the artist has gone through and wishes to recreate, thereby shortening the gap between audience and the artwork. It thus presents the dialogue that all contemporary art works need in order to communicate with viewers. The artist's courage to exhibit such action in a commercial art expo, to question the commercial rejections of action art with nudity is admirable.This strong and unrefined statement issued directly reflects Shiwei's passion for and perceptions of art. Her close range nudity-themed action art will leave the viewers with unforgettable introduction to European art education approaches while injecting a resonant dialogue into Taipei's ARTmosphere.

Independent Curator / uji & Sam Lang ( London, 2011)