@tailiwu

Instagram: @tailiwu Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/tailiwu Website: www.monstershaper.com  

1. What's your story? Where are you from?

Hello, I am Taili. (wave) I am from the countryside of Taichung, Taiwan and currently living in New York. I love making things and making them move :)

2. Tell us about your aesthetic.

I enjoy playing with different mediums and mixing them together. I am drawn to the handmade touch. Drawing the ideas and making them as three-dimensional objects is one of my favorite things. I love telling stories of my everyday wonder through my little sculptures and animations. The subject is usually surrounded by the funny little things in our daily life. Oh yea, and food.

3. What is your favourite medium and why?

My favorite medium is stop motion, because I got to work with my hands & physical things. Sometimes I make sculptures & sets then animate them, and sometimes I use existing objects especially daily objects like food, paper, bottle, toys, packaging.

4. What is your artistic process like?

It differs from project to project. Usually, projects that involves team members or commisioned work, it takes few more reviewing & revising process from concept to execution. Most of my process is like this: idea--->research & reference--->sketch (pencil & paper)—>design (sometimes hand drawn on paper, sometimes in computer)—>build props & sets(skip this step when working with existing product or objects)—>animate. I put down ideas or words on the phone sometimes when sketchbook is not easy to reach, this happens sometimes during my commute on the subway.

5. Who and/or what inspires your work?

Haha, so many I can't count. Definitely animals, toys, folk art and close friends & environment around me. Taking a trip is a good way for me to refresh and stimulate my eyes. I find more happy surprises when I am constantly in a curious mode. I also love works from artists: Alexander Girard’s playful colors & design, Tabaimo’s elegant video installations, and Miroco Machiko’s animal paintings.

6. What role does art play in your life? How does it change the way you view the world?

Art is our everyday life :) It’s everywhere from home deco, plants, street, cars, buildings… I feel very lucky to be an artist, because I get to participate in making these things come to life.

7. Where did you study?

I studied Education and Art Education in Taiwan at Taipei Municipal University of Education for BFA, and I had my MFA in Computer Arts at School of Visual Arts.

8. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Continued making things I love, stop motion and sculptures. Love to explore some bigger sculpture, and electronics(making my sculpture move) in the coming years.

9. What about in ten?

Move out of the city (laugh), and have a bigger workshop space surrounding the nature, where I can walk the dog and enjoy woodworking at home workshop :)

10. What do you hope to achieve with your art?

Spreading the happiness and maybe bringing you a smile or some good laugh.

11. Now, tell us a little more about you as a person: what is your favourite food?

Vegetable Ramen(with soup), mapo tofu(spicy tofu), bubble tea, and crunchy cookies.

12. Favourite book?

Hmm, so many so hard to pick one. I am a book □ to picture books, and I constantly discovering new books. Currently, my favorite book is Zoom by Istvan Banyai, there is another book in the series call Re-zoom, which is awesome as well. They are books which takes the viewer through a wild zooming journey, from farmhouse to toy sets, magazine cover, cruise, bus, city, tv, desert, postal stamp, island, helicopter and outer space etc. Another favorite book is Sequential Drawings by Richard McGuire. It’s a collection of simple line drawing about NY life. Pretty fun to read and laugh.

13. Favourite genre of music?

I listen to different music depends on the mood and my energy status. Usually, I listen to Jazz when I need some quiet time or thinking. And electro house or something with happy beats when I am energetic and ready to start the work. Recently fall in love with the album Telefone (artist noname), which I heard in a downtown ramen shop and have been obsessed playing them when I work.

14. What are your hobbies?

Making ceramics and toys, and collecting them from artists I adore.

15. If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

a. Biscotti baker! As you might have read already, I love crunchy cookies. Discovering biscotti is one of the best thing ever. I dream about opening a small biscotti bake shop + gallery named biscotti. b. Sheep farmer They are too cute to not to have them and so comforting seeing them, right?!