“Riverlake Narrative” is young Taiwanese artist Lin, Yi-Wei’s debut solo show. In this exhibition, Lin takes Palms Again, Yu Li Hua’s novel published in 1967, as the axis. Starting from the metaphorical palms in the novel, he discovers the various phases of transformation that palm trees symbolize throughout Taiwan’s history. These discoveries and introspections then become the background from which the narrative of this debut solo show develops.

The works investigate the relationship between migration and immigrant, and seek material from history, following threads such as waterways, river trekking, subway cars, and foreign residents. Beyond the specter-like qualities that sustain the works, another recurring feature is “guests” who have lost a strong perception of their local surroundings. Using humidity and sun-exposure as the media that generate the works, and through infinitesimal narratives that occur in daily life, he pieces together the dynamics of living. In so doing, he initiates an alternative way to unearth history — by sentimentally compiling and rationally integrating — which serves as the background for the works. Concealed within these works is a visual narrative, merged into existence by the ghost-like forms that exists amongst immigrants, naturality, and modernity.

林奕維，《夜跑》系列，49 x 64cm，壓克力顏料、畫布、生漆，2016

林奕維，《鳥園》，40 x 40 cm，壓克力顏料、紙板，2016

林奕維，《平坦空間》，54.5×54.5cm，壓克力顏料、紙板，2016