Shyu Ruey-Shiann: Between I
Exhibition Dates. 18 Dec 2024 – 18 May 2025
at White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney, Australia
BETWEEN I
Artist. Shyu Ruey-Shiann 徐瑞憲
@shyu_ruey_shiann
2012-23
metal, plastic, sound, electrical and audio components, 48 pieces
installed 69 x 976 x 795 cm
Shyu Ruey-Shiann is a pioneer of kinetic art, known for transforming everyday objects into interactive mechanical wonders. His installation ‘Between I’ blends high culture with everyday life, fusing the humble trashcan with classical music to create a playful yet profound experience.
The installation invites interaction: by stepping on a pedal, the audience activates the music, altering the rhythm and sound with their movement. Shyu worked with over a dozen musicians from the Taipei Symphony Orchestra to record a live performance, embedding this classical music into the trash cans, offering a sense of spiritual comfort.
This fusion of mechanical, sound, and multimedia elements creates a space where contrasting ideas—classical music and a trashcan—dialogue, infusing cold, rigid forms with humanity, life, and memory. Shyu’s work invites exploration into the boundless possibilities of kinetic art, giving audiences a unique sensory experience.
Credits & Musicians:
Conductor: Hsiang-Yu Liu
Flute: Li-Fang Chen Wen-Hsin Weng
Oboe: Tsai-Chun Wu Chia-Chin Chen
Clarinet: Yueh-Hsiu Lo Yin-Ling Liu
Bassoon: Chia-Chi Kuo An-Chih Hsu
Trumpet: Tsai-yen Lu Po-Han Chen
French Horn: Xiang-Jun Chang Yung-Chi Yang
Violin 1: Chih-Yu Lan Peng Tai YA-SSU YANG Jen-Hou Wu
Violin2: Wen-Ling Chang Bing-Rong Wu Yu-Cheng Chiang
Viola: Chia-An Huang Wen-hsuan Huang Ting-Wan Lin Yi-Ting Chu
Cello: Ming-Chun Lee Chi-Yun Chou Ping-Sheng Lin
Double Bass: Chin-Wen Tan
Sound Recording Coordination: Ge-Wei Lin
Recording, Mixing & Production: Shao-Ting Sun, Tt.
Recording Assistant: Kai-Xin Chen
Audio & Program Control Engineer: Wei-Yu Lai
Sound Engineering: HeiMi Creative Studio--Anastasia Hsiao, Jessica Chiu, Barrett Lin
Human-Computer Interaction Engineer: Chao-Yu Lin
Part of current exhibition XSWL at White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney
event link
It’s all fun and games…until someone loses an eye.
China’s digital age is a vibrant playground where memes, virtual WeChat stickers[1], puns, and jokes are used to bypass censorship and address politically sensitive topics. To keep up in this rapid-fire environment, phrases are often condensed into acronyms. The Chinese internet slang XSWL, short for “xiào sǐ wǒle” (笑死我了), means “laughing to death.” It echoes the English “LOL” but with a twist; when viewed more literally, it suggests that light-hearted fun might mask darker games at play.
Historically, Maoist Communism vilified leisure as bourgeois decadence, branding idleness and play as threats to productivity. Today, this perspective has been upended by the “Lying Flat” movement, or “tǎng píng” (躺平) in Chinese, which rejects excessive labour and underscores a broader critique of societal pressures. All work and no play has resulted in many young adults abandoning their jobs, opting to become “full-time children.” Similarly, the popularity of “sàng” (丧) culture among urban youth—a trend marked by a pervasive sense of despondency—reflects a shift toward black humour.
In this context, art becomes an arena where the stakes are high and social boundaries are pushed to their limits. Harmless fun comes at a steep moral price that the astounding artists in XSWL are more than willing to pay. Wild colours, cartoon imagery, and everyday playthings sit in sharp contrast to an underlying sense of violent humour. Tongue-in-cheek creations shatter once-innocent veneers, warning us that it’s all fun and games… until someone loses an eye.
Text via White Rabbit Collection - Photographed by Nani P - post via instagram @nani.visit
