YEH Wei-Li

葉偉立

works in Taipei (b. 1971, Taipei)

YEH Wei-Li (b.1971)

Yeh Wei-Li was born in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1971, and emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of eleven. As a teenager in Tampa, Florida, Yeh was fascinated by heavy metal music and aspired to be a rock-and-roll photographer. He consequently studied photography at the University of South Florida (BFA 1994) and later received a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design (1997). Graduate workshops at Brown University’s experimental Literary Arts Program and a three-month visit to Taiwan in 1996 (his first since emigrating), fueled his thesis work on themes of displacement, assimilation, cultural identity and racial politics. Relocating to New York City, Yeh exhibited work at Columbia University, New York University, Bronx Museum of Art and the International Center of Photography. Yeh presented his seminal photography work, Guest: On the Subject of Home, at his “Septemberly” Brooklyn studio in December 2001, shortly after 9/11. Since returning to live permanently in Taiwan in 2002, Yeh has been active as an artist, curator and instigator. Yeh’s work is shown and collected internationally, and his photographic and text-based projects continue to explore the dynamics of the individual within collective practices, centering on both the personal and the socio-political relationships between the self and the city in which he resides. His collective and collaborative-based practice is seen in major projects such as Treasure Hill Tea + Photo (THTP) and the ongoing Antiquity-like Rubbish Research & Development Syndicate. Yeh lives and works in Yangmei, Taiwan and still holds hope of going on a world tour with a rock & roll band.

1971	Born on September 10th in Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan.
1982	His mother relocated Yeh and his sister to the U.S.
1990	Enrolled in the University of South Florida Tampa and majored in photography.
1992	Attended a 5-week summer photography program in Paris.
1993	First solo exhibition, Accessories, presented at the university gallery.
1995	Enrolled in the Department of Photography at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island.
1996	Visited Taiwan for 3 months after having been away for 15 years, and began recalling the memories he had of Taiwan.
1997	Graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and moved to Brooklyn, New York.
2001	Solo exhibition, Guest: On the Subject of Home, presented at Septemberly Studio, New York, and Yeh was subsequently invited to exhibit at Columbia University, New York University, and the Bronx Museum of Arts.
2002	Left New York and returned to Taiwan, and presented MOCA and I in May at the exhibition, Legends of Chang-an West Road: Street as Plant, Art as Animal, curated by Roan Ching-Yueh, MOCA Taipei.
2003	Invited to exhibit in the group exhibition, Only Skin Deep: Representation of the American Self, organized by the International Center of Photography, New York.
2003	Moved to Mucha, Taipei. Received a grant from the Asian Cultural Council and participated in the Gunnery Studios Residency Program, Artspace, Sydney, Australia.
2004	Invited to exhibit in the 2004 Taipei Biennial Do You Believe in Reality? Presented Treasure Hill Tea + Photo (THTP) / Phase One: The Portrait Project and Phase Two: Delineations
2005	Received a grant from The 1^st National Culture and Arts Foundation Production Grants to Independent Curators in Visual Arts and curated The Lake: Towards a Cross-Cultural Dialogue. Solo exhibition, Three Places, presented at National Central University; presented Treasure Hill Tea + Photo (THTP) / Phase Three: Trash. (WHERE?)
2006	Treasure Hill Tea + Photo (THTP) / Phase Four: The Archive & the Garden presented at the exhibition Altered States curated by Amy Cheng at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.
2007	Left Treasure Hill and participated in a 6-month residency at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, France.
2008	Returned to Taiwan from Paris and began renting an old theater on Rixin Street in Yangmei as his studio. Invited by curator Amy Cheng to present Treasure Hill Tea + Photo (THTP) / Phase Five: Oversight at Centre A, Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. Also invited in the same year to participate in the workshop Unpacking Projects-In-Progress for The 3rd Guangzhou Triennial: Farewell to Post-Colonialism in Guangzhou, China.
2009	Left Taipei and relocated to Dayuan Township, Taoyuan County, and began Antiquity-Like Rubbish Research & Development Syndicate.
2010	Invited to exhibit in Taipei Biennial 2010, and began a two-year tenure at Yuan Ze University’s Department of Art and Design, teaching a course on Studio Art Making.
2011	Owner of the old theater on Rixin Street decided to sell the place, forcing Yeh to relocate his studio. Began Antiquity-Like Rubbish Research & Development Syndicate in Tongluo through the invitation of the Outsiders in Tongluo – Open Community Art Project. Participated in the exhibition Post-Actitud and created on site at Ex Teresa Arte Actual in Mexico.
2012	Invited to exhibit in Taipei Biennial 2012, and completed the large-scale collective art project, Rubbish Research & Development Syndicate in 206. Married Wu Yu Hsin. Invited to exhibit at the Shanghai Biennale. First son, Laebu Booker Yeh, was born.
2013	Invited by the Candida Höfer Foundation to participate in a 3-month photography project in Köln, Germany. Began teaching photography at the School of Fine Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts.
2014	Solo exhibition, “Antiquity-like Rubbish Research & Development Syndicate” Project Selected Photographs & Documents 2010 to 2014 presented at the Fotoaura Institute of Photography in Tainan. Invited to exhibit at the Saatchi Gallery’s exhibition Post Pop: East Meets West in London.
2015	Began creation of interpretive works on Yeh Shih-Chiang’s paintings and calligraphy in April.

Selected Solo Exhibition

2025	Began creation of interpretive works on Yeh Shih-Chiang’s paintings and calligraphy in April.
2024	Beitou Palimpsest, Hong-gah Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
2021	Looking for Matawinie, Ygrec Art Center, Paris, France
2016	Sofa Prototype, IT PARK, Taipei, Taiwan
	Antiquity-Like Rubbish Research & Development Corporation: Selected Works from 2010 to the Present, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong
	Three Places: For Marguerite Duras, TKG+ Projects, Taipei, Taiwan
2014	Go Jian Quest with Limo & Kong, Arrow Factory, Beijing, China
	Antiquity-Like Rubbish Research & Development Corporation Project: Selected Photographs and Documents, 2010–2014, Inart Space, Tainan, Taiwan
	A Present for the Gift or Vice Versa: For You & Your Friends Down the Road, Chi-Wen Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan 2005, Three Places, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
2011	Antiquity-Like Rubbish Research & Development Syndicate, Miaoli, 15 Datung Street, Miaoli, Taiwan
	New Day Street + Treasure Hill \| 2008 to 2011 Selected Works, Hanart Square, Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong, China
2009	Divinity Trace, New Day Street, Yangmei, Taiwan
2008	THTP Project, Phase Five, Oversight, Centre A, Vancouver, Canada
2007	20 Boulevard Soult, Cite Internationale des Art Gallery, Paris, France
2006	THTP Project, Phase Four, the Archive + the Garden, Treasure Hill Artivist CO-OP, Taipei, Taiwan
2005	Wei-Li Yeh: Three Places: Photographs 2002-2005, NCU Art Center, National Central University, Chung-Li, Taiwan
2001	Guest: On the Subject of Home, Septemberly Studio, Brooklyn, New York, USA
1993	Accessories, University of South Florida Gallery, Tampa, USA

Selected Joint Exhibition

2026	BUT I \| WORLD \| I SEE \| YOU, Triennial of Photography Hamburg, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany
2023	Remarkable Highlights—Taoyuan Contemporary Artists Invitational Exhibition, Department of Cultural Affairs, Taoyuan City Government, Taoyuan, Taiwan
	If I Were a Mirror, Taoyuan Children’s Art Center, Taoyuan, Taiwan
2022	Visible · Invisible, LIGHTWELL, Taipei, Taiwan
2021	The Night Is Still Young—Artists’ Nights, Sky Gallery, Luodong Cultural Working House, Yilan, Taiwan
	Art in the Time of the Pandemic—Taoyuan Contemporary Artists Invitational Exhibition, Department of Cultural Affairs, Taoyuan City Government, Taoyuan, Taiwan
2020	The Crisis of Reality: Contemporary Asian Photography, Espronceda Institute of Art & Culture, Barcelona, Spain
2019	Constructing NYC—Photographs of Impulsive Construction and the Turbulent City, Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, Vilnius, Lithuania
2018	A Maiden’s Prayer, NTUE Art Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
	ILLUMINATED PRESENCE: Yeh Wei-Li Interprets + Yeh Shih-Chiang, The Armory Show, New York, USA
2016	2016 Taipei Biennial: Gestures and Archives of the Present, Genealogies of the Future, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
	Dancing with the Collection: An Experimental Laboratory of Summoning, Reimagining, and Retelling, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
	Beyond the Globe: U3—8th Triennial of Contemporary Art in Slovenia, Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2015	Illuminated Presence – Yeh Shih-Chiang: Paintings and Calligraphy + Yeh Wei-Li: Interpretive Works, Hong Kong Arts Centre
	2015 IT PARK Limited Editions, IT Park Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2014	Post Pop: East Meets West, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
	The Gift, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
	Cross-Strait Young Artists Exhibition/Taipei: The Lost Garden, ESLITE GALLERY, Taipei, Taiwan
2013	Thaitai: Measure of Understanding, MOT, Taipei, Taiwan
2012	The 9th Shanghai Biennale, Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China
	2012 Taipei Biennial, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
2011	Taiwan Centennial Photography Exhibition, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
	Taiwan Calling: Contemporary Artist of Taiwan, Lugwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary
	Post-Actitud, Ex Teresa Arte Actual, Mexico City, Mexico
2010	2010 Taipei Biennial, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
	Get It Louder, SOHO-San-Li-Tsun, Beijing, China
	Ethique d’aujourd’hui sue le Patrimoine, Galerie Frederic Moisan, Paris, France
2009	Whose Exhibition is This? , Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
	Topographie in Vivo, Talmart Editions, Paris, France
2008	The 3rd Guangzhou Triennial: Farewell to Post-Colonialism, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
	Treasure Hill Tea + Photo: Phase Five—Errata, Centre A, Vancouver, Canada
2006	The Borderline, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
2004	2004 Taipei Biennial: Do You Believe in Reality?, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
2003	Beyond the Surface: Representations of the Self in the United States, International Center of Photography, New York, USA
2002	The Myth of Chang’an West Road: The Street Is a Plant, Art Is an Animal, Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan