Che-Yu Wu (吳哲宇)

30-Second Overview

Che-Yu Wu is a Taiwanese new media artist, musician, and educator. He creates “living” artworks written in code—systems that evolve, breathe, and change in response to time or interaction. His works have been exhibited internationally at the Venice Biennale, Art Basel Miami, CENTQUATRE-PARIS, and Ars Electronica. As a teacher, he has brought more than 22,000 students into the world of creative coding through online courses and workshops.

Why He Matters

In the age of AI-generated images, Wu represents a different path. Instead of letting AI produce images for him, he designs the rules that give form to the work itself. He describes himself as an “old-fashioned clockmaker”: while others rely on ready-made tools, he builds the mechanism from scratch. This philosophy gives his work a distinct presence in the international art scene—where the emphasis is not just on what is produced, but on how the system of production is crafted.

From Engineer to Artist

Born in 1995 in Taipei, Wu grew up with an equal fascination for programming and visual art. In university, he began experimenting with Processing and p5.js, discovering that code could be a creative medium rather than just a tool. His process is unlike that of concept-first artists: he explores by making. Through trial and iteration, he learns what he wants—and does not want—to create.

This “build first, understand later” approach reflects a broader Taiwanese maker culture, where experimentation often precedes theory. His method results in works that feel alive, exploratory, and never fully predictable.

Signature Works

**The Great Equation (2023)**

A solo exhibition at AMBI SPACE ONE in Taipei 101, one of the world’s largest p5.js generative art shows. Viewers were immersed in a massive visual environment where mathematical formulas generated real-time imagery—fractals, fluid dynamics, and algorithmic patterns unfolding on screen.

**SoulFish (2022–2024)**

Exhibited at the Venice Biennale. The piece simulates a digital school of fish where every individual holds unique “soul parameters.” Their collective behavior is emergent, unpredictable, and deeply organic. The work asks: if digital life could have a soul, what would it look like?

**The Soul of Flowers (2023–2024)**

Shown at Art Basel Miami in collaboration with the Tezos Foundation. Using L-system algorithms, the work models the growth and decay of flowers. Each bloom lives a full life cycle, emphasizing impermanence and the beauty of transience.

**The Eternal Garden in a Bottle (2024–2025)**

Created during a residency at CENTQUATRE-PARIS and later exhibited in Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Art Center. The installation includes a live piano performance: the audience’s music drives a closed digital ecosystem in real time. The work explores preservation versus captivity—whether keeping something alive also means confining it.

**Algorithmic Verses (2025)**

An immersive piano performance at Huashan 1914 Creative Park. Real-time piano sound is analyzed through FFT spectral data and translated into visuals, creating a synesthetic landscape. Wu is both composer and programmer, blurring the boundary between artist and engineer.

Creative Philosophy

Wu’s creative spectrum spans mathematics, organic life, decay, chaos, sound, and human–machine collaboration. His central themes have evolved with his life:

• 2018–2024: “The Loneliness of the Digital Creator” — an obsession with bringing code to life, filling the absence of real-world connection.
• 2025: “The Asymptotic Touch” — attempting to approach the soul with 0s and 1s, forever close but never overlapping.
• 2026: “Craving the Present While Seeking the Eternal” — discovering that true eternity is not time without end, but moments of such density that time disappears.

This evolution mirrors the journey of many digital artists: from building a solitary system to searching for human warmth inside the machine.

FTX and the Absurdist Turn

In 2022, the collapse of FTX wiped out a significant portion of Wu’s crypto assets. Rather than treat the loss as a defeat, he reframed it through Camus’ absurdism: “The meaning of life is what you choose to build.” The experience deepened his reflections on value, permanence, and trust. He often notes that the most enduring outcome of the NFT era was not money but social capital—networks of belief that outlast financial volatility.

Education and Influence

Wu is also one of Taiwan’s most influential creative coding educators:

• Hahow Online Courses: Three courses with over 22,000 students, consistently rated 5.0/5.
• National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University: Former adjunct lecturer teaching “Generative Interactive Art and System Design.”
• TouchDesigner Workshops: Live courses combining real-time visuals with interactive systems.
• Weekly Livestreams: He broadcasts his creative process on YouTube, merging exploration with public teaching.

His teaching philosophy is simple: don’t just learn tools—learn to think in code.

A Clockmaker in the AI Era

As AI art becomes ubiquitous, Wu’s stance has grown clearer. He welcomes AI assistance—he often notes that 95% of his code is AI-assisted—but insists that human intention must remain the author. The artist’s role shifts from engineer to director, but the core authorship stays human. This ethic distinguishes his practice in a landscape flooded with automated output.

What He’s Doing Now

In March 2026, Wu launched Taiwan.md, an open-source knowledge base about Taiwan. The motivation was simple: if AI models learn “what Taiwan is” from the internet, Taiwan needs a high-quality source written from Taiwanese perspectives. Taiwan.md uses Markdown as its format (a playful nod to the .md domain), building a single source of truth for Taiwan’s history, culture, food, technology, nature, and more. Within two days of launch, the project exceeded 443 GitHub stars and continues to grow with community contributions.

“This isn’t just a website,” he says. “It’s Taiwan’s digital anthropology museum. In the AI era, knowledge sovereignty is not optional—it’s necessary.”

👉 taiwan.md
👉 GitHub: frank890417/taiwan-md

Major Exhibitions

Further Reading

• cheyuwu.com — Personal Website
• INSIDE Interview: Side Chat E375
• Monoame Interactive
• MonoLab
• Spotify — Music Works
• Hahow Courses

Related Topics

• Taiwan’s Digital Art Development
• Taiwan’s Game Industry and Digital Entertainment
• Taiwan’s Indie Music Scene