Germany-based artists Sven Bergelt and Fu Ya-Wen gave a talk at TNUA on May 20 on how the refugee problems in Europe inspired their exploration of the personal “escape” from daily life, a theme to be underscored in an exhibition they will jointly curate in Taiwan later this year.

“Elsewhere is Nowhere” will open at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts to call attention to the refugee problems in Europe.

Prof. Jun-Jieh Wang, chief director of the Center for Art and Technology where the artists gave their talk, noted that the refugee problems in Europe are a serious political issue.

But the artists’ representations and observations can not only motivate people to face the problems, but also let them understand how the political and social changes would change the artists’ perspectives and expressions.

The Leipzig-based Bergelt noted in his talk that the upcoming exhibition “Elsewhere is Nowhere” asks the questions: “Escape from where?” and “Escape to where?” It is an exhibition of expressions of “fear,” “escape” and “boundaries,” he said.

He further pointed out that many people in Europe do not think the refugee problems are relevant to their lives, but the artists are going to try to make the viewers rethink their own situations.

Ms. Fu, who hails from Taiwan but is currently based in Germany, has been director of tamtamART-Space in Berlin since 2009. She said her work explores the definition of the human body and the relationship between the individual and the outside world.