Performance Presentation “Aijin” | Li, Wen-Hao

The title of this work, Aijin, is taken from the famous song by Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng (Chinese name: 鄧麗君).

Artist Li, Wen-hao conducts research and creates works that focus on nostalgic pop music in Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and Indonesia, as well as its circulation across Asia.
During his residency at PARADISE AIR, he worked on a project that reconsiders the songs of Teresa Teng, who enjoyed immense popularity in Japan at the time, and presented the results as a performance presentation.

Although Teresa Teng was popular in both Taiwan and Japan from the 1970s through the 1980s, the public image of her as a singer differed greatly between the two places. In Taiwan under martial law, some of her Japanese-language songs were banned because they were judged to depict “immoral relationships.”
Aijin was an attempt to bring to light, through the act of singing, the untold stories of Teresa Teng that had been silenced under such oppression.

Rick Yamakawa, an artist-in-residence at PARADISE AIR, and critic and dramaturg Kenta Yamazaki have written reviews of this presentation, Aijin.

🔗 Review by Rick Yamakawa (artscape): https://artscape.jp/article/55439/
🔗 Review by Kenta Yamazaki (artscape): https://artscape.jp/article/57078/

The articles offer multifaceted readings of the work, exploring the intersection of personal history and national history, the layers of time generated by the act of singing, and the complex emotions embedded in Asian pop music.

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Performance Presentation “Aijin”  | Li, Wen-Hao

Date: Sunday, November 23, 2025
Time: 13:00–14:00 (Doors open at 12:45)
Venue: Matsudo Civic Hall, Room 303 (Music Room)
Address: 1389-1 Matsudo, Matsudo City
Languages: Japanese, English, Taiwanese Mandarin
Admission: Free, no reservation required

Support: National Culture and Arts Foundation