This artwork was created my local school students who took part in a special workshop to make illuminated beetle-like creatures out of recycled materials. Old bottles, wood, paper, wire and plastics once may have been found as pollution on the side of the river, but here they have been given a new life.

See how the illuminated creations spread like a galaxy of stars in the dark.

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Co-creation / Tainan Municipal Yanshuei Junior High School students,

Glass bottles provider / WE Drink Beer Company

Shards of crystal bloom in flower-like clusters on water’s surface. Their shape is reminiscent of corals that may have grown here when the Island of Taiwan was a reef waiting to be lifted from the ocean floor.

Small lights flow from the clusters like spawning coral promising continued life and growth. It is a symbol of the origin of Yanshui’s vitality and prosperity.

This work uses sixty-four cubes that have been fitted with solar panels which generate different levels of luminosity. 

The cubes float above the water, creating patterns of light and form. It reminds us that light, and the energy it provides, gives us everything we need to survive. Just as plants undergo photosynthesis, the lights give life to Yuejin Harbor and ensure its survival.

This work is named after a phenomenon called Brocken Spector which appears in high mountain areas. It happens when you stand on a ride with your back to the sun and gaze into the mist, you will see your shadow surrounded by a rainbow-like effect. As you walk, it follows you.

This work is made by constricting light, not adding. Most light is stopped by the wall. But that only enriches the internal space. It is the essence of the Japanese aesthetic concept called ‘MA’ - the pure and essential void between all things. The beauty of the lack of something gives meaning to things which exist. Brocken also reminds us of the the value of the darkness that is being lost in our overly illuminated cities.

Colourful Japanese koinobori or carp kite is the inspiration for this arial work. The kites or flags were shaped like a carp fish with its open mouth attacked to the pole and its tail fluttering int he wind. The carp was is revered in Japanese culture, where it's regarded as a symbol of strength, energy, and courage, because it is powerful enough to swim upstream in rivers.

Here the artist reimagines the carp as two abstract figures flying in the wind through the darkness over the bridge. Their lights are reflected on the water below. They symbolise the vitality and power of the spirit of Yuejin.

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Technical Consultant: Department of Mechanical Engineering Tatung University, CheerFour Technololgy Co. LTD.

Tainan is the first developed area in Taiwan and Yanshui was an international trading harbor - the guiding light of the area’s local economic development.

Japanese artist Morioka Koji reimagines the traditional lighthouse as a mythical mermaid lifted from the water by a school of fish. For the artist, the work represents "the future of Tainan and the growth of culture, the development of the relationship between Japan and Taiwan".

Like all lighthouses it acts as a point of reference for those embarking on a journey and as a beacon for those searching for a way home.

The two large curved surfaces float above the water in dynamic tension with each other and the water below. It appears as some sort of gateway or portal, inviting us to enter at one end and squeeze through to the other side perhaps to another place in time.

The curves embrace and sky and the earth. They catch the breeze and reflect the light. They tell us of the passing of time and whisper the old songs of the Harbor.

O wants？ to challenge your relation to space and time, light and dark, reality and illusion. It plays with traditional form and invites the audience to become a part of the artwork.

When viewed from across the river, the illuminated rings sit suspended beneath the trees along the river bank throwing their reflection on the water. However, when seen up close, the rings are a combination of light, mirror reflection and void that welcomes the surroundings into the illusion.

The artist challenges our perception of what we see, what we think we see and what is actually there.

A topographical map is used to capture the physical characteristics of the land. Swirling contour lines connect areas of equal elevation revealing the hills and the valleys, the flat plains and the waterways. Elevations and depths are all relative to each other.

In this artwork, the artist uses the beauty and fragility of the the contour lines to capture the vulnerability of the land to rising sea levels, coastal erosion, global warming and impact of climate change.

‘Drawn in Light’ is a large installation made of steel wire the has been hand-bent into various shapes, which form one drawing. The lines of this drawing reflect the light and illuminate the dark evening sky.

The scene is a typical Amsterdam canal building and the scenery and people around it welcoming comparisons between different towns and places that have been shaped by water. The breeze gently rotates the images in an orbit, so that the whole work resembles a mobile, a continuously moving, ever changing, drawing of light. This installation was originally made for the Amsterdam Light Festival and has since been shown in Belgium, Singapore, Romania, Sweden, England and Israel.

Many visitors to Yuejin Lantern Festival may be familiar with the work of Yu Wen-Fu who is renowned for his site-specific installations and land art made from natural materials like bamboo.

For this work he has drawn inspiration from the ocean being the origin of all life. Waves formed by stripes of bamboo emerge from the river and crash onto the land. 

Tidal Sounds allow us to hear the song of waves washing against the shore as if they are trying to tell us the to tell us the stories from the depths of the harbor.

In this work, the artist explores the relationship between humans and their build environments. Here he uses light and sound to convert a simple bridge into ‘Spaceship’. The audience passes from one side to the other through a soundscape of movie special effects and are invited to make their own contribution to the sounds using the available microphones.

The lights of the spaceship respond and react to the sounds, so the audience becomes fundamental to both the creation of the art and the enjoyment of the work.

From the distance, these shapes floating above the bridge seem familiar. Like the silhouette of a fishing village that may have once stood on the river’s edge. But seen from different angles the shapes converge into larger geometric and futuristic forms. The artist asks us to imagine life on the river and its relation to the human built environment that has shared the space over the millennia.

The Balloon ship is like a giant jellyfish, carrying dreams and memories through time and space. Here it sits in the old harbor inviting you to come aboard and sail from the past toward the future guided by the Lighthouse.

For this work, the artist has drawn on the design of ships from The Kingdom of Tungning, the first Han Chinese government to rule Taiwan between 1661 and 1683; a period of great prosperity for Yanshui Harbor.

This audio-visual installation is a constant dialogue between isolation, emergence and transformation of a normal space and the audience interacting with it.

Lights pulsate through illuminated pillars creating mesmerising three-dimensional shapes and special effects. The work manages to blur the lines between the actions inside this contained grid and the light radiating into its surroundings.

This is an installation version of the artist’s Erratic live show.

Skimming stones on the river is a right of childhood. Choosing the biggest latest stones and just the right point on the river bank to launch is essential to get at least five skips.

Here the stones are imaginary and the ring patterns they make dancing across the water are created by light.

Who knows how many stones have been skimmed across Yuejin Harbor?

Yuejin Harbor was once of the most important commercial harbors in Taiwan. Among the many goods to pass through the dock were the products of Taiwan’s large and lucrative whaling industry.

This year a whale has found its way back into the harbor. Is it lost, or has it come back to remind us of the important role it once played in fuelling and feeding the harbour and the people that once lived here?

The sound of moving water is an important element in our imagining and understanding of the harbor.

Here the artist has captured the different sounds of the tidal flow which are played from each of the speakers. It is the sound of lapping water and waves that generates the lights at the base. The stronger the sound, the brighter the light.

The work can be enjoyed as a stand alone installation, but also in conjunction with the nearby Wave, where it provides the soundtrack to the waves of bamboo licking the riverbank. 

A meditative and enjoyable play of sound and vision.

To mark the tenth year of the Yuejin Lantern Festival, a special exhibition at the Yongcheng Theater, gives a retrospective look at the amazing works which have appeared at previous lantern festivals. 

The exhibition captures the different festival themes over the years and the different installations that have occupied various parts of the festival setting. It gives the visitor a deeper and multifaceted appreciation of the festival that has bought so much light into the lives of so many.

Augmented reality is the bridge between the real and the digital. In the same way you can ad filters or disguise your face on social media apps, this year we are inviting you to use Augmented Reality (AR) to see a different dimension to the artwork.