In this interview, the physician artist, Tayu Wu, reflects on his career trajectory and the story behind the painting selected as the journal cover. He reveals how his continuing interest in visual studies has an impact on his practice as a radiologist. He also explains the motivation behind the painting series, Bable 101, regarding the relationship between art creation and therapy. Lastly, through his own interdisciplinary practice, Wu describes the Inseparability between art and medical practice.
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Let us first start by introducing ourselves from a third person perspective. Born in 1983, Tayu Wu (吳大有) is a practicing radiologist as well as an award-winning artist. He graduated from National Yang Ming University (now National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University) with a degree in medicine, and from the Graduate Institute of Fine Art, National Taiwan Normal University, with a master’s degree. He demonstrated an extraordinary artistic talent from a young age at private studios. While at medical school, he began to explore oil painting, photography, and graphic design. At the same time, medical training such as gross anatomy also enabled him to reflect on motifs about the beauty of human bodies and the temporality of life. His style varied as he experimented with theories of medical history, cultural studies, and the philosophy of science. His most recent academic article, “From ‘parents’ to ‘professional technicians’: representation and alteration of physician artists’ images in comics in Taiwan” (從「家長」到「專業技師」:台灣醫師創作者於漫畫的形象再現與變遷) appeared in Cultural Studies Quarterly (Wu Citation2018, in Chinese). In 2020, he held his first solo exhibition, Babel 101 (巴別101-吳大有創作個展) in Taipei, Taiwan (Citation2020).
