Masiswagger Zingrur
APT10: Between Earth and Sky
Paiwan people
Born 1972, Timur community, Sandi village, Sandimen, Pingtung County, Taiwan
Lives and works in Sandimen
Masiswagger Zingrur has devoted more than 20 years to studying and remaking ancient Paiwan ceramic pots. The son of glass bead master Qumas Zingrur, he pursued fine art studies, but became increasingly invested in cultural preservation and the appreciation of traditional practices.
Zingrur’s work for APT10 was inspired by the return of Uluru to its Traditional Owners — the Pitjantjatjara people — and the gradual acceptance of its cultural significance by the broader Australian population. With Dialogue Token, he imagined himself creating a pot as large as Uluru, aspiring toward a similar social stature for indigenous ceramics in Taiwan. The work features objects suggestive of the shards of such an enormous creation, arrayed before a pedestal bearing a single pot. For Zingrur, installation allows him to present his research and articulate his perspectives on cultural identity, while sharing his passion and creating dialogue with indigenous peoples elsewhere.
Masiswagger Zingrur / Paiwan people / Taiwan b.1972 / Dialogue – token 2021 (detail) / Kilned clinker soil, gravel / 18 parts: installed dimensions variable / © Masiswagger Zingrur / Image courtesy: The artist and Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Cultural Development Centre