Highlight nr 12 of liste_art_fair_basel showtime: @projectfulfill and @zhangxu_zhan Artist ZHANG XU Zhan has recently engaged in exploring “the universal connections between Taiwanese and world cultures,” such as how the meaning of music changes during its circulation and how oral tradition permeates into different regions to produce localized variations, insofar as to discover the general principles and similarities of cultural circulation, integrate those similar yet heterogeneous signatures, explore how locality extends by linking up with universality, and finally create new derivative works. Born into the popular century-old Hsin-Hsing Paper Sculpture Store in Xinzhuang, Taipei County, 1988, Zhang Xu Zhan specializes in creating a riotous profusion of paper effigies ranging from luxurious mansions and oversized paper dolls to paper-pasted mythological animals and flowers. Earning his master’s degree in new media art from Taipei National University of the Arts in 2010, the artist is also proficient in employing diverse media such as drawing, stop-motion paper doll and multi-channel video installation to create animations, videos, experimental films and extended images. His artworks not only revolve around absurd and bizarre images, but also encapsulate his wry observations on strange social phenomena and the cul-de-sac his family business (memories) faces. In other words, the artist’s works feature the unending decay and the post-revelry companionlessness that serve as part of his life’s rich tapestry.