Yao Jui-Chung was born in 1969. Lives and works in Taipei. Graduated from The Taipei National University of the Arts with a degree in Art Theory. His works has been widely exhibited in numerous international exhibitions.

In 1997, he represented Taiwan at the Venice Biennale. He took part in

• the International Triennale of Contemporary Art Yokohama (2005)
• APT6 (2009)
• Shanghai Biennale(2012)
• Beijing Photo Biennale(2013)
• Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale, Venice Architecture Biennale, Media City Seoul Biennale, Asia Triennial Manchester (2014)
• Asia Biennale(2015)
• Sydney Biennale(2016) and
• Shanghai Biennale(2018)
• 14th Curitiba International Biennial of Contemporary Art(2019)
• XIII Krasnoyarsk Museum Biennale(2019)
• Taipei biennial(2020)and
• Jakarta Biennale(2021)
• Mediations Biennale Polska(2022)
• Macao Biennale(2023)

Yao was the winner of The Multitude Art Prize (Hong Kong) in 2013 and 2014 Asia Pacific Art Prize (Singapore). In 2018 he was the winner of Taishin Arts Award (Taiwan). He has also been widely involved in the fields of theatre and films.

Yao specializes in photography, installation and painting. The themes of his works are varied, but most importantly they all examine the absurdity of the human condition. Representative works include Action Series. We can find the clue as he explores the question of Taiwan’s identity in :

• Military take over (1994)
• subverts modern Chinese political myths in Recovering Mainland China (1997)
• and examines post-colonialism in The World is for All (1997~2000)
• as well as Long March-Shifting the Universe (2002)

In recent years, he has created photo installations combining the style of “gold and green landscape” with the superstitions that permeate Taiwanese folklore, expressing a false and alienated “cold reality” that is specific to Taiwan. Representative works include the series of

• Celestial Barbarians (2000)
• Savage Paradise (2000) and
• Heaven (2001)

Another photo installation series Libido of Death (2002) and Hill (2003) tries to probe into the eternal issue of body and soul.

Recently, Yao Jui-Chung has assembled all the black-and-white photos of ruins he took in the past fifteen years, grouped under the themes of industry, religious idols, architecture and military bases. They reveal the enormous ideological black hole in Taiwan hidden behind the trends of globalization and Taiwan’s specific historical background as a continuation of the main theme of his work: the absurdity of the historical destiny of humanity.

Since 2007, Yao has started to create a series of works including

• Wonderful (2007)
• Dust in the Wind (2008~2010)
• Dreamy (2008~2010)
• Romance (2009) and
• Honeymoon (2010~2011)

He appropriates masterpieces from Chinese art history and recreates them in his own way, transforming them into his personal history or real stories in an attempt to turn grand narratives into the trivial affairs of his individual life. Yao intends to usurp so called orthodoxy with his recreated landscapes.

In 2010, Yao grouped his students into a team of photography workshop called "Lost Society Document"(LSD). He encouraged them to photograph and survey in their hometowns. Through the way of field survey, they attempt to draw the outline of “mosquito houses” which have been widely criticized, publish three books named "Mirage: Disused Public Property in Taiwan", and practice the possibility of observing the society by the meaning of art to the present time.

Apart from creating art, Yao Jui-Chung has curated exhibitions including

• The Realm of Illusion-The New wave of Taiwan Photography (2002)
• King-Kon Never Die -The Contemporary Performance & Video art in Taiwan (2003) and
• Spellbound Aura-The New Vision of Chinese Photography (2004)

His essays have been published in many art journals. He has also published several books, including

• Installation Art in Taiwan since 1991-2001 (2002)
• The New Wave of Contemporary Taiwan Photography Since 1999 (2003)
• Roam The Ruins of Taiwan (2004)
• Performance Art in Taiwan 1978~2004 (2005)
• A Walk in the Contemporary Art : Roaming the Rebellious Streets (2005)
• Ruined Islands (2007)
• Yao Jui-Chung (2008)
• Beyond humanity (2008)
• Nebulous light (2009)
• Biennial-Hop (2010)
• Mirage: Disused Public Property in Taiwan Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ, V,Ⅵ, VII(2010~2019)
• Incarnation (2017)
• PHOTO-LOGES Ⅰ, Ⅱ,Ⅲ, Ⅳ, V,Ⅵ (2018~2024)
• Republic of Cynic(2021), Hell Plus(2021) and
• Muddy Buddha(2022)

His works have been collected by

• the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
• the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
• the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan
• Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
• Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art Collection, Cornell University, USA
• Bibliothèque National de France, Paris, France (French National Library, Paris)
• Art Museum of Seoul

and many other private collectors.

Yao Jui-Chung now works as an artist and Department of Fine Arts Adjunct Professor at the National Taiwan Normal University Department of Fine Arts & Taipei National Taiwan University of the Arts.