We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kuei-Pi LI. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kuei-Pi below.

Kuei-Pi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Banana Coin is one of the important art projects in my professional life.

Banana Coin is talking about the crop in the colonies in before and the influence until today, especial banana. Through a Japanese invasion money in Malaya in World War Ⅱ which printed in the bank in Taiwan. Due to there is a bunch banana on the front, people call this money “Banana money.” In the end of World War Ⅱ, the money without prudent management system cause inflation and become synonymous of valueless. This project through the online game, NFT, video installation and performance to discuss a way to run away from today’s financial system. This project also attempts to use many developing technologies, like AI, database of human voices and so on.

This work consists of three interconnected parts. Weather Forecast of Banana Plantation, a video installation combined with a real-time weather tracking system, features two channels projected onto opposite sides of a wall. One side displays a map with anchor points marking banana plantation sites resulting from transnational trade or companies. The other side shows the weather conditions of these sites, along with reconstructed images of the “banana money” banknote. Meanwhile, the work is incorporated with computing technology to simulate sounds of real weather conditions, and includes an AI-generated reading of banana prices and sounds indicating inflation over the course of more than eighty years. These elements form a non-stop loop of repeated content.

In the short film Isoamyl acetate, the artist creates a young female character from the future who travels through various historical scenes, such as past banana plantations in Taiwan, banana inspection and grading, as well as the transportation of bananas to ports, inquiring into both the past and the future. A song sounding like an operatic aria is used throughout the film. It is composed by re-editing sounds from a human voice database. The melody composed of unidentifiable sounds instead of understandable words. This short film is connected with the weather forecast system and is synchronized with Weather Forecast of Banana Plantation.

“Banana Coin” is an ongoing project. In its first version, published in 2023, the audience could play a customized online clicking game to win banana coin NFTs, which were used as tickets to join and bid on banana sculptures in an auction. These banana sculptures, a total of ten pieces, were made of aluminum-bronze , the material used to mint the NT$1 coins. The bidding price for each banana sculpture started at the number of NT$1 coins equal to its weight, and the highest bid won. The auction was hosted by the protagonist in Isoamyl acetate, who acted as the auctioneer and steered the development of the event.

The first version of Banana Coin was showed in 2023 in Project Seek in Taiwan. These day I am working for its second version with a new online exchange system.

Kuei-Pi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am LI Kuei-Pi, an artist.

I got my M.F.A degree in 2017. After it, I start my freelance life and trying to keep my creative. All of my work is about how to reconstruct the relationship in between people with different community, history, environment and so on. I used video, objects, installation and writing as the main form of art projects. Art is a medium to prompt a discussion in between people who has different background and standpoint.

Most of my funds for arts came from foundation, government and co-working with different art space, museum and people. In the process, I learned to bridges different communities and ideologies, and work with interdisciplinary expert.

For me, the most wonderful thing in an art project or exhibition is get an opportunity to invite people/community/issue which never be emphasized. To show their idea and keep the freedom of artistic expression. Adjust how resources are allocated through art can also used in empowerment for economically disadvantaged groups. In some cases, My workmate and me co-worked with female artist group from Global South, also invite works from refugee camp education project to show in Europe. The working fee is not much but can support a little bit for them to keep running their projects.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice

In the beginning, NFT is a wonderful idea which trying to solve problems in capitalism and surveillance state. But it just like all of the practitioner of Utopic, people finds that it is impossible entry it. In Banana Coin, I made the NFT version of Banana banknote and giving value through the art market.

I don’t think it was a very successful endeavor. People try to escape the logic of capital operation through art, but in the end we are always forced to prove that in any form of game, the owner of capital is always the biggest winner.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There are a lot of people do the same work like me and trying to push some meaningful conversations and programs be happened by creative way and push inclusive society and sustainable environmental strategy, like scientists in gene engineering, AI Engineer and so on.

The reason of indispensable of art is because it brings a way which is not easy to be controlled by utilitarianism and authoritarianism. It means, it is not easy for lost way when you practice your ideals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.likueipi.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/likueipi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/likueipi/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/%E5%A5%8E%E5%A3%81-%E6%9D%8E-175666177/

Image Credits

00. When the project debuted, the artist also recreated one of the recipes concocted by the Japanese Empire – the “banana peel jam,” which was served to the audience in a performative manner in the opening event. Photo by WANG Sean, courtesy of Hong Foundation.
01. Isoamyl acetate, Screenshot, courtesy of LI Kuei-Pi.
02. Isoamyl acetate, Screenshot, courtesy of LI Kuei-Pi.
03. Isoamyl acetate, Screenshot, courtesy of LI Kuei-Pi.
04. Exhibition of Banana Coin, photo by WANG Sean, courtesy of Hong Foundation.
05. Exhibition of Banana Coin, photo by WANG Sean, courtesy of Hong Foundation.
06. Banana made by aluminum-bronze, the material used to mint the NT$1 coins., courtesy of LI Kuei-Pi.
07. Banana auction, photo by WANG Sean, courtesy of Hong Foundation.