The works of the exhibition Before Memory examine the temporal and positional facets of memories. To Yuan, the temporal “before” is the moment that precedes the occurrence of a memory. In contrast, the positional “before,” occurs when one confronts a memory. Memory itself holds multiple meanings – it exists in the past, as well as in the present. The act of remembering is like a journey between the “then” and the “now” – wherein one toggles back and forth between one’s childhood home, one’s hometown, a loved one, a city, or the ruins of a glorious past.

The artist Yuan Goang-Ming is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of New Media Art at the Taipei National University of the Arts. His work has been included in numerous international exhibitions, including the Gwangju Biennale (1995 and 2002), the Taipei Biennial (1996, 1998, and 2002), Translated Acts (Berlin, New York, and Mexico City, 2001-02), 01.01.01: Art in Technological Times (San Francisco, 2001), Luna’s Flow: The 2nd Seoul International Media Art Biennale (2002), Culture Meets Culture: Busan Biennale 2002, the Venice Biennale (2003), the Liverpool Biennial (2004), the Guangzhou Triennial (2005), the Singapore Biennale (2008), and Taiwan Calling (Budapest, 2010).

Eugene Tan, PhD, is a critic and curator from Singapore, who co-curated the inaugural Singapore Biennale (2006) and served as curator of the Singapore Pavilion at the 2005 Venice Biennale, and solo exhibitions of Lee Mingwei (2010) and Charwei Tsai (2009), among others.

Leslie Ureña, PhD, is an art historian who specializes in the history of photography and has worked in curatorial departments of the Museum of Modern Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Yale University Art Gallery. She is now the International Manager of TKG+, Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Taipei National University of the Arts, and writes for Artforum.com.

The exhibition Before Memory will be open to the public as of 11:00am on October 30, and has been extended through November 27, 2011.

In conjunction with Yuan Goang-Ming’s solo exhibition, Before Memory, TKG+ is pleased to host a conversation with Yuan, the critic and curator Eugene Tan, and the art historian Leslie Ureña regarding the artist’s past and recent work.