Sun Altar Reimagined, 2018, Poly Clay, Cardboard, Solar Charged Battery, Super Bright LED, Pom Pom Balls, Ceramic Bowl, Candles, Approx. 10" x 10"

Sun Altar Reimagined is a sculptural prototype and performance work inspired by the book An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa, an Island subject to the Emperor of Japan by George Psalmanazar. 

George Psalmanazar (c. 1679 – 3 May 1763) was a Frenchman who claimed to be the first native of Formosa (now known as Taiwan) to visit Europe. For some years he convinced many in Britain and capitalized on his fame by publishing a book titled An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa, in which he offered British readers an intriguing and sensational glimpse at Formosan culture. He was later revealed to be an impostor and fake. 

Being an actual Formosan, I decided to take it as a challenge to recreate and reimagine Psalmanazar’s ideas of Formosan culture. 

You can read the book on Google Books and learn more about the “Native Formosan” here.