The Walker is more than a pilgrim through time and space, it’s the transformation of imagery.
 

In 2011, while rehearsing the stage play Only You, in the monologue The Fish of Lee Kang-sheng: The Journey in the Desert, Lee walked at an extremely slow pace for just a few meters. He shifts between the roles of Tsai Ming-liang’s father and the Tang Dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang. This movement profoundly affected Tsai. These steps both suspended and advanced the forward motion. It encapsulated the essence of the decades-long collaboration between Tsai and Lee. It also planted the seed for the open form of cinema Tsai has been nurturing.
 

If Lee’s slow walk is the crystallization of his years of collaboration with Tsai, then The Walker series, which they completed between 2012 and 2024, can be seen as a grand artistic journey across disciplines, realized through Lee ’s embodiment of a red-robed monk in slow, deliberate motion.
 

This series includes ten films of varying lengths—No Form, Walker, Sleepwalk, Diamond Sutra, Walking on Water, Journey to the West, No No Sleep, Sand, Where, and Abiding Nowhere—as well as the stage play The Monk from Tang Dynasty. Additionally, it extends into cinematic exhibitions such as No No Sleep at MoNTUE －Tsai Ming-Liang Solo Exhibition, Walker, Tsai Ming-Liang at the Zhuangwei Dune Visitor Center, and A Quest at the Centre Pompidou. Together, they explore the fusion of film and space.
 

Footprints of the Walker: Tsai Ming-Liang refers to the ten films, pointing to this body of work inspired by the 17-year-long journey of Xuanzang in search of sutras from India. Over the past decade, The Walker series has set foot not only in Taipei, Yunlin, and Yilan but also Hong Kong, Kuching, and Tokyo, and extended as far as Marseille, Paris, and Washington D.C. Through long takes, the films depict the monk’s journey outward from Taipei in meditative movement—from the inner self to the broader world.

Within the gallery space, these films do not exist independently but interconnect to form an organic whole. Presented alongside paper, sutras, mirrors, chairs, sketches, paintings, objects, and archival materials, an immersive visual environment is created through multi-screen installations and video art. Light and shadow, color and texture, missed encounters and fateful meetings, life and illusion, the finite and the infinite—these elements weave together to shape the unique world of the Walker.

Footprints of the Walker: Tsai Ming-Liang symbolizes the artistic transformation of Tsai as a director, opening up a new cinematic pilgrimage. Imagine the ancient monk from Chang’an who, defying the imperial decree, set out resolutely on his westward journey in search of the Dharma. Similarly, Tsai uses film as his scripture, moving between cinema, theater, and exhibition spaces, continuously  searching beyond spatial, media, and artistic boundaries—to carve out a Walker’s path that gazes upon time itself.

Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts

Aciting Director｜Emily Yih-wen LIN

Executive Supervisor｜TSENG Fang-ling

Coodinator｜HUANG Yi-han, YANG Yung-Ju

Public Programs｜HUNG Ching-chan, KAN Chia-hsuan

Marketing｜Nancy LU, YOU Shiou-wen

Artist's Team

Artist, Curator｜TSAI Ming-liang

Curator｜SING Song-yong

Production Manager｜Claude WANG

Production Coordinator｜Katrina HSIEH
Marketing Manager｜HOU Li-yu
Press Coordinator｜Maggie LAI
Videographer & Editor｜WANG Yao-yi, Rebecca TSAI

Exhibition Production

Installation Team｜LIU Chi-yi, NIEH Tung

Audio-Visual Installation｜TIEN Zong-yuan, TSAI Wen-Chang, ​​LI Chieh-En, HUANG Chih-li, LAI Hsin-yu, ZHAN Yu-hsuan

Audio-Visual Engineering｜LIAO Yi-hsiang, LIU Yao-Yang

Graphic Design｜Winder CHEN

English/ Mandarin Translation｜Leonard CHIEN

Supervisor｜Bureau of Cultural Affairs, Kaohsiung City Government

Organizer｜Homegreen Films, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts

Co-organizer｜Kaohsiung Film Archive, Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute, SPOT-Huashan

Special Support｜Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation, eslite art house

Sponsor｜National Culture and Arts Foundation, Lih Pao Cultural Arts Foundation, CHECK Hospitality Management CO., LTD., Lion Pencil CO., RSI Group

Accommodation Sponsor｜GUIDE HOTEL