During my residency at the International City of Arts (Cité Internationale des Arts), I participated in several exhibitions, such as Exposition le Souffle de la Nature au Théâtre le Dôme in Saumur; the biggest children's book fair in France, Le Salon du Livre et de la Presse de Jeunesse; Salon du Livre Jeunesse 2023 de Saint Gervais la Forêt; and Regards de Taïwan in the city library in Tour. I also attended book-signing events at independent bookstores, such as Les Traversées in Paris and Les Enfants Terribles in Nantes, to showcase the rich culture, creative energy, and beautiful scenery of my hometown to the locals and deepen their positive impressions of Taiwan.

"Memory, connection and relationships" are common themes in my creations. I aim to express my life experiences and emotions, explore more possibilities of life, and gain self-understanding from different perspectives. Through the residency, I felt my world had opened wide up. That little boat in my heart, once lost, now finds its way to navigate forward, on and on.

Here's my residency presentation:
1. The Birth of an Illustration Book: From Drafts to the Final Work
tried to demonstrate the process of creating an illustration book, from initial sketches, rough drafts, coloring, final artwork, to compiling into a book. I selected a few pieces to be printed as hanging paintings to show more texture and detail.

2. Everything's Gonna Be Okay: Musical Associations of a Bed and the Sea
The bedsheets at the artist village were blue, with wave-like seams. I used the sheets as an ocean and placed hand-painted pictures on them. Music has been an important element and source of inspiration in my artworks. I played a new song that I made with Merlin, my music partner at the village.

3. This Is My Sea; I Come from Taiwan
The last part of this final presentation was a wall of photos. I picked some photos of the sea I took in Taiwan, for more people to learn about the beauty of the island.

During the six-month residency, other than exploring local life, I acquainted myself with some French artists. I plan to hold interviews with them to learn about the opportunities they have and the difficulties they face. The records of the interviews will be provided to artists or art groups in Taiwan as references for future development.

Author: Chiang Kun-sen
Edited: Brix