Dance with Serpent

In this ink painting, the artist incorporates elements of Buddhism to reinterpret the negative symbolism of the snake and its associations with the female body and identity across diverse cultural contexts. The female figure merges with a volcanic landscape in the background, and the lifted skirt reveals a glimpse of Taiwan’s mountainous scenery. The snake becomes an extension of the body, embodying a hidden feminine power.

The work explores how female roles are reassembled and reinterpreted in contemporary contexts, drawing from psychological theory and traditional mythology to reimagine archetypal feminine vitality. It reflects on how, within patriarchal and colonial histories, powerful female deities were often assigned terrifying traits, fracturing the self, the goddess, and what was once a whole being encompassing both light and darkness.