Journeys into Spiritual Wellbeing: Urban Meditation in Taiwanese Outsider Art
This exhibition is curated by Dr Yu-Shan Tseng (Anniversary Research Fellow, School of Geography and Environmental Science), Anjie Dai (MA student at Winchester School of Art) and YuXin Zhang (MA student at Winchester School of Art). It is part of Yu-Shan’s anniversary research project 'Digital Wellbeing'.
This exhibition is sponsored by the Anniversary Research Fellowship at the University of Southampton.
Wednesday 4th June 2025 - Wednesday 25th June 2025
Level 4 Gallery in Hartley Library
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This outsider art exhibition offers aesthetic expressions of urban meditation, known in Taiwan as self-detachment (放空). Unlike traditional meditation confined to secluded or sacred spaces, the self-detachment meditation channels moments of stillness into the rhythms of everyday urban life—walking in city streets, riding public transport, cycling through neighbourhoods.
Through outsider art, this exhibition translates meditative experiences into journeys for spiritual wellbeing. Each artwork has captured spiritual states of inner awareness, emotional clarity and transcendental connection. In our increasingly disconnected urban environments, this collection offers glimpses into how everyday meditation can initiate spiritual journeys towards self-healing where trauma and pain are given new meaning and transformed.
We now invite you to embark on your own journey into spiritual wellbeing. Ponder these drawings. Listen to the artists' descriptions of their work and self-detached experiences. Discover what urban meditation might mean for your own soul and spirit. Come and practise your own urban meditation and share your experiences on the DIY wall!
Please find out more about this exhibition in the research project website: https://encounters.blog/2025/04/introducing-a-taiwanese-outsider-art-exhibition-at-the-university-of-southampton-journeys-into-spiritual-wellbeing-4th-25th-june-25/
On Instagram: @Journeys_Spiritualwellbeing
The exhibition launch will take place in the Level 4 Gallery at Hartley Library on 4th June 2025, 11:00am - 11:30am.
Confirmed speakers: Emeritus Professor David Kingdon, Sara Roberts
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