“Island of Paradise” presents a solo
Show of works by Ari Bayuaji made during his residency in Taiwan. Based on several semi- finished works comprised of multiple materials gathered from around the world, Bayuaji has spent 6 weeks visiting places in Taiwan looking for inspirations, working on combining his new local collections with his previous works and turning them into a series of delicate sculptural works that manifest a contemporary cross-culture trial. During his stay, he was most fascinated and impressed by how the National Palace Museum is like a great cabinet with all the antique jewelry, religious objects, scroll paintings and calligraphy showing how Nature has always been a great resource of art.

His work is in this residency is about reconstructing the fragmented memories In between foreign  cultures. Other exotic sceneries in the city and events such as Chinese Opera have also brought him great inspirations. When new culture is introduced and objects are meant to be transformed, he sees the big window of the use of stones, jades, and corals. It is his belief that, in an ever-changing world, challenging assumptions in art is crucial. Living in this era of rampant Commercialism, the artist wishes to merge discarded designed objects with his paintings and sculptural works. Together, they shall create romantic objects of a universal value that belongs to the next generation.