Photographer Seba Kurtis first arrived in Europe as an illegal immigrant from Argentina. He followed the dream of a perfect life that attracts many to first world countries, considering Europe as a Promised Land. In this stunning series of portraits commissioned by Vauxhall, Kurtis explores his pre-conceptions of British people whilst simultaneously re-inventing what it means to be British in today’s multicultural society.

Fascinated by stereotypical characters like the English Rose and the British Gentleman, Kurtis wanted to analyse how their modern re-incarnation differs from the original, drawing a parallel between the idealised classic British life imagined as an immigrant, and the everyday reality.

In this cathartic work he travelled to London, Manchester, Blackpool, Cheshire, Birmingham, Liverpool, Bradford, Rhyl and Brighton, where he spent days shooting on a large format camera, documenting hundreds of people. In his personal re-interpretation of classic British characters, Kurtis captures an insightfulsnapshot of the UK today whilst getting to know the people who are now part of the country’s population.

People like Agata, born in the UK from Polish parents, who spent her childhood in Britain. She moved back to Poland as a teenager, but has now returned to London as a young woman. Agata belongs to two countries and embraces two different cultures; she suffers an identity crisis, a situation mirrored in Kurtis’ portrait, where the young woman is suspended in a dreamy reality and yet conveys her determination to succeed in life.

Gemma was born and bred in the UK. Having left her family, she chose to be a traveller, and makes a living out of performing with her two horses in circus-style events. The portrait depicts the English girl in her bright pink costume, jarring against her dilapidated surrounding.

Sata, an Iranian Kurd, known as Star to his friends, was only 14 when he escaped Iran by swimming to Turkey. It took him two years to get to the UK, during which time he was homeless in Greece, France and Italy. After 6 attempts he finally managed to enter the UK hidden in a lorry, four years ago. He will not be able to see his family ever again, and should he return to Iran, he could face hanging. He still doesn’t have a passport, but has been granted permission to stay in the UK. He works in a kebab shop in Cheshire.

Ahmed, a grocer who has lived in the UK for over 20 years, Jordie, from Manchester, who has been raised in foster care and is now a social worker, Sweet, who works illegally 16 hours a day to support her three children in South America, and many others, contribute to the series of portraits reflecting Kurtis’ view of the UK: multicultural, illegal, aspirational and, moreover, deeply human.

As a trademark of his work, Kurtis purposely ruins the films whilst still undeveloped, exposing them to the sunlight for a few seconds. This action results in the photographs taking on imperfections and light, symbolising both a positive message of hope and a reminder that the dream of a perfect life is always to be balanced with reality.

Winner of the Vauxhall Collective Photography category Seba Kurtis was chosen by a panel of industry experts for his ability to create powerful and yet delicate work, drawing from his own personal experience to reflect on universally shared emotions. Commissioned by Vauxhall Motors to create a body of photographs on the theme “reinventing British classics”, he has produced a series of portraits capturing the essence of British people today; whether they are born and bred in the UK, second generation residents or illegal immigrants.

The Taipei Fine Arts Museum presents a retrospective exhibition for the artist called “indispensable to this world” by The New York Times. Cai Guo-Qiang has left his mark on various cities and countries, from Fujian to Shanghai, from China to Japan, and from New York to the world. His work expresses a kind of metaphysical thinking derived from Eastern philosophy and modern cosmology. Known worldwide for his gunpowder-based works and large-scale installations, Cai became the first Chinese artist to hold a solo exhibition, I Want to Believe, at the Guggenheim Museum, New York in 2008.

This retrospective, which traveled to Beijing and Bilbao, demonstrated his achievements and place in contemporary art. Hanging Out in the Museum is the largest retrospective to be organized since. In addition to showing the same large-scale installations, gunpowder drawings, and video documentation of his explosion projects, Cai has specially created three significant new works for this exhibition in Taiwan: Strait, Day and Night and Taroko Gorge. Embodying his unique historical and cosmic view, these works address the problems of existence faced by man in contemporary society through artistic forms and clearly illustrate the process of realizing Cai’s artistic ideas.

Named among ArtReview’s annual Power 100 four times, Cai Guo-Qiang was born in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. He speaks Fukienese and is also a follower of the goddess Mazu; for him, coming to Taiwan “feels like coming home.” In 1998, Cai was first invited by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum to realize Golden Missile and Advertising Castle for the 1998 Taipei Biennial. In the same year, he was commissioned to realize the No Destruction, No Construction: Bombing the Taiwan Museum of Art project. In 2004, Cai curated the BMOCA (Bunker Museum of Contemporary Art: Everything is Museum No. 3). After the September 21, 2000 earthquake and August 8, 2009 floods, he donated his works to charity sales, showing his deep affection and friendship for Taiwan.

This is Cai’s second collaboration with the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and his first exhibition inside the tall, spacious galleries of the museum. Through the positioning of the installation works in the architectural space, Cai looks back at his works and places them in new contexts, challenging and energizing the museum space in unusual ways. The 35 works on exhibition are drawn from internationally renowned museum and private collections, and include three specially created new works. The first floor features a total of seven large-scale installations, while the second floor features gunpowder drawings, video documentation, and timelines.

As a contemporary artist, Cai Guo-Qiang not only dreams audaciously, he is also strongly effective at realizing his artistic vision. His explosive energy does not stem from gunpowder, but from an unrestrained flow of creative energy, an ability to create social dialogue, and a dogmatic romanticism. This exhibition highlights the artist’s background and development, his creative process, and his insistence on and methods of making art more accessible to the general public. To fully embrace the theme of “hanging out at the museum” and to create opportunities where the public can interact with art, a series of activities and programs, such as the public viewing and volunteer training for the creation of several gunpowder drawings in the exhibition, and related education programs have been initiated. The exhibition also seeks to examine Cai Guo-Qiang’s creations and the zeitgeist in his art, through contemplating the practice of contemporary art, critiquing socio- and geopolitics, and reflecting on Eastern aesthetics and philosophy.