NEWS
Honor
- Publish Date：2025-08-13
First for Taiwan: NYCU Professor Kuang-Yi Ku Wins Prix Ars Electronica Honorary Mention in Artificial Life & Intelligence
Edited by Chance Lai
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Kuang-Yi Ku, Assistant Professor at the Graduate Institute of Applied Arts (IAA), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), has been awarded an Honorary Mention in the Artificial Life & Intelligence category of the 2025 Prix Ars Electronica for his cross-disciplinary project, Atlas of Queer Anatomy. Selected from a pool of 910 submissions, Ku is the first Taiwan-based artist to receive this honor as an independent individual in the category’s history.
This year’s competition—the world’s oldest and most prestigious festival for new media art—attracted 3,987 entries from 98 countries, with only 15 works recognized in each category. Atlas of Queer Anatomy not only sets a new milestone for Taiwan’s art community but also challenges the long-standing dominance of white, male perspectives in medical illustration by integrating diverse gender identities and bodily experiences into the visual canon of anatomy.
Challenging Medical Patriarchy with Queer Bodies in Global Anatomy
Atlas of Queer Anatomy unfolds in three parts:
This year’s competition—the world’s oldest and most prestigious festival for new media art—attracted 3,987 entries from 98 countries, with only 15 works recognized in each category. Atlas of Queer Anatomy not only sets a new milestone for Taiwan’s art community but also challenges the long-standing dominance of white, male perspectives in medical illustration by integrating diverse gender identities and bodily experiences into the visual canon of anatomy.
Challenging Medical Patriarchy with Queer Bodies in Global Anatomy
Atlas of Queer Anatomy unfolds in three parts:
- A New Anatomy Atlas – Inspired by the classic Atlas of Human Anatomy, Ku reimagined its illustrations to highlight gender and sexual diversity, confronting the patriarchal and heteronormative frameworks that have shaped medical education.
- 3D Installations and Sculptures – Transforming the drawings into physical works, these pieces critique the rigidity of conventional anatomical displays, inviting viewers to perceive bodies in new dimensions.
- Interactive “Queer Anatomy” Workshops – Collaborations with institutions such as Amsterdam UMC and the Medical Education Fringe Festival engage medical students and the public in collectively imagining and drawing their interpretations of queer anatomy, opening new spaces for dialogue between medicine and art.
The chapters span from human–microbe symbiosis in sexually transmitted diseases (Chapter 1), intersex anatomy (Chapter 2), transgender and gender-affirming surgery (Chapter 3), to the sensory connections between smell and microbiota (Chapter 4), and the organic–inorganic relationships of masturbation and sex toys (Chapter 5). Each topic uses the language of art to dismantle anthropocentrism, binary classification, and disease stigma, encouraging audiences to rethink bodies and intimacy.
From Dentist to Bio-Artist
Trained as a dentist, Ku now works at the intersection of medicine and art. He is currently an assistant professor at NYCU’s Graduate Institute of Applied Arts and a doctoral researcher at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK, where he lives and creates between Taiwan and the Netherlands. His works explore the body, sexuality, interspecies interaction, and medical technology—probing the relationships between technology, individuals, and the environment. Ku has previously received the Bio Art & Design Award, Core77 Speculative Design Award, Gijs Bakker Award, and the Taipei Digital Art Award, among others.
For Ku, Atlas of Queer Anatomy is both a critique and an academic proposition. “It’s not about dismantling medical education,” he explains, “but expanding its vision—so that more ‘unarchived bodies’ can be seen and understood.”
NYCU’s Interdisciplinary Spirit
NYCU IAA fosters connections between art, technology, and social issues, encouraging faculty and students to use creativity for public discourse. Ku’s recognition at Ars Electronica reflects this ethos—bridging medical expertise with global art stages, crossing disciplinary boundaries, and showcasing Taiwan’s creative force in contemporary art and cultural critique.
Atlas of Queer Anatomy (Credits: Kuang-Yi Ku)Related Image(s)：
