Tatsuo Miyajima: Human Life as Collective Experience

All life in the world that we live in shares sunlight, air, and water equally, whereas these beings, regardless of their lifespans, have respective cycles from dawn to doom. The title “Human Life as Collective Experience” invites two enquiries: “life” refers to not merely humanity but also various beings on earth, while “collective” ponders over the impacts of human activities and behaviors on each other and other forms of life.

Stemming from the experience of frequent illness and hospitalization in childhood, the new media art pioneer from Japan, Tatsuo MIYAJIMA, develops his core concern about life in his practice and employs numbers and countdown as the key elements in his works. Numbers exist in our life. From the date, month, and year of birth to the people, things, and objects we encounter, number counting and recording are everywhere, shaping how we perceive the world around us. Countdown symbolizes the passing of life, and the various fluctuations and experiences in our life are presented via the distinct varied rhythm of countdown. Number 0, a significant existence obscured in Miyajima’s works, represents the passage to the next cycle, unlit, yet securing an absolutely vital position.

Tatsuo Miyajima took on his art career with performance art. In the late 1980s, following the popularization of light emitting diode (LED), the artist has been known to the world by using a myriad of LEDs and IC (integrated circuit) digital counters as his mediums. At his 42, Miyajima became the representative artist of the Japan Pavilion in the Venice Biennale. Mega Death, a large-scale spatial installation artwork consisting of 2400 counters, appears to be a cold combination of programs and electronic devices, and nevertheless, amidst the flickering numbers, his ardent concern for different states of life is evinced.

“Human Life as Collective Experience” is Tatsuo Miyajima’s first solo museum exhibition in Taiwan, featuring the artist’s classical works from 1993 to 2025, newly created artworks, as well as rarely-seen concept drawings for creative projects and performance art. The numbers in the exhibition, coming from various cultures and languages, are imbued with distinct speed, tone, or color, symbolizing the state of collective existence of numerous individuals around the world, intertwining and coexisting in communities. This exhibition featuring oeuvre spanning over three decades is not a static retrospective. Instead, it is a solo exhibition involving different stages of participation and journeys of co-creation, engaging in an intimate dialogue with the local context. With five collaborative works produced with participants from Taiwan, Wufeng, and the China Medical University - Asia University System, what the artist seeks through the exhibition is to reflect that we are more than individuals, rather a collective with everyone involved and interdependent on each other.

This year marks the 12th year of Asia University Museum of Modern Art (Asia Modern). Starting from this 12th year with a number of multiple implications, Asia Modern reconsiders the meaning of art, repositioning itself with “Asia-ness” and “Bene-esse” (Well-being). Pondering over the intimate ties of art with humanity and that of the human race with the environment and other beings, the museum is transformed into a platform for conversations between myriad species, materials, and existence. “Human Life as Collective Experience”, as the first exhibition of modern art masters after Asia Modern’s transformation, invites artists to work with the Museum, amidst the visuals and audios of numerical countdown, to collectively reflect on the cycles and connections of life and the environment.

In the modernized lifestyle, most people dwell in the cities together, yet often feel alienated, and hard to connect themselves with other species. However, individual life is never a lonely journey. Every individual is gradually shaped by the relationships with others as well as the cultures and historical contexts they are situated in, which in turn constructs the destiny shared by all beings. Through the concern proposed by “Human Life as Collective Experience,” Asia Modern invites visitors to engage in a deeper thinking over the closely network of all beings, where people support each other, transforming Asia Modern into a space where multitude of life and voices converge and coexist.


─── Exhibition Information ───
Tatsuo Miyajima: Human Life as Collective Experience
Exhibition Dates｜ November 8, 2025 – May 10, 2026
Venue｜ Asia University Museum of Modern Art (No. 500, Lioufeng Rd., Wufeng District, Taichung City)