Taiwan 'Guest of Honour' at 2013 Brussels Comics Festival

Without doubt Brussels, the birthplace of Hergé’s famous flying journalist Tintin, is the capital of the comic book world. Every year at the beginning of September, the city celebrates its colorful paper heroes. From 6^-8 September, Brussels transforms itself into a blistering Mecca for comic lovers. More than 20 booksellers and editors, eight huge exhibitions, hundreds of comics authors and numerous animations invite both adults and children to step out of the narrow box of daily life into a world of chivalry, adventure, fantasy and humour exposed over 3,000 square metres.  

For its 2013 edition, the Brussels Comics Festival and the Taiwanese Cultural Centre in Paris, are proud to present Taiwan as ‘Guest of Honour’. With a stand entirely dedicated to it and in the presence of five famous Taiwanese comic book authors here for the occasion, visitors will be presented with the riches of the Taiwanese Comic Book. These five distinguished authors are determined to blow an exotic wind into a mainly European-dominated comics world. Visitors will have the opportunity to see their original masterpieces, meet the artists in person and get swept up by the artists’ imaginations. The presence of these Taiwanese authors links the Comics Festival with the Belgian Comic Strip Centre which will be simultaneously running an exhibition from 11 September to 27 October on Master Chiu, a renowned Taiwanese artist who will also be in attendance at the Festival.

It’s not a coincidence that Taiwan was chosen as Guest of Honor. Much has changed since the old days when Taiwanese artists with a sharp pencil were nothing more than anonymous contributers to the international design industry. A new generation of Taiwanese ‘cartoon authors’ has arisen, determined to compete with countries like France and Belgium where the 9^th Art seems to have been part of the national cultural memory forever. Some of them have been praised repeatedly at international comic festivals, have exhibited abroad and have seen their work translated into different languages. Recognition by a prestigious institution like the Brussels Comic Strip Centre highlights the vitality and artistic quality of the Taiwanese comic art even more.

Paying homage to Taiwanese comic art without including the much hyped Chiu Row-long is like rowing without oars. Chiu’s socially critical masterpiece  Seediq Bale  (original title: The Revolt of Wushe), a historical epic and social indictment about the aboriginal Seediq uprising against the Japanese occupation of Taiwan in the 1930s, and its recent film adaptation Seediq Bale (2011), caused a tidal wave in Taiwanese cinema and comic art. The original strip plates will be displayed in an exclusive exhibition at the gallery of the Belgian Comic Strip Centre.

Another highly praised Taiwanese guest at the festival is Chen Hung-Yao, famous for stories of kung fu and chivalry like The Great Journey to the West, The Legend of Yi Dao and his latest publications Time Trick, a collection of five science fiction stories about the relationships that humans have with technology. With his cocky no-nonsense storyboard style, a narrating technique he borrowed from film, Chen managed to capture the zeitgeist and stands out from the crowd, showing expertise beyond compare.

The third bird in the artistic nest flying over from Taiwan for the occasion is Xiao Zhuang, a former adman who became famous with his masterpiece The Window, a powerful portrait of ordinary people struggling to get by in 1980s Taiwan, imprisoned between hopes of democracy and frustration in a globalizing consumer society.

Li-Chin Lin and Ahn Zhe will present festival visitors with a blue print of young, urban Taiwan. In the autobiographical and award-winning graphic novel Taiwan, Lin recalls her childhood under the dictatorial regime and brings a highly personal insight in the dilemmas her generation has to face when pursuing democracy. Ahn Zhe has made animated films for more than three years, before opting for a life as a graphic designer. His monochromatic drawings are strongly influenced by old black and white movies, although the stories themselves are an accurate persiflage of modern Taiwan.

Tung Kuo-yu, Representative in the EU and Belgium, and Chen Chih-Cheng, Director of the Taiwanese Cultural Centre in Paris, invite visitors to visit the Taiwan Stand and enjoy the masterpieces of these five distinguished artists as well as participate in numerous  workshops, seminars and other activities.

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