Sakuliu Pavavaljung (; born 1960) is a Taiwanese Paiwan artist.

Early life

Sakuliu Pavavaljung was born in 1960, in

Sandimen Sandimen Township is a mountain indigenous township in Pingtung County, Taiwan Province, Republic of China. The population of the township consists mainly of the Paiwan people with a substantial Rukai minority. Names Ethnic Chinese settlers ...

Pingtung County Pingtung () is a County (Taiwan), county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county ...

, Republished and translated as: and resides in the village of Koushe. His family made iron knives for several generations. Sakuliu Pavavaljung's father named him after his paternal grandmother's father. Sakuliu Pavavaljung's three older siblings had died in infancy, so his father chose the name to evoke an ancestor that evil spirits had respected. Etan Pavavaljung, his younger brother, is a painter and woodcutter.

Career

Sakuliu Pavavaljung's art is inspired by the intersection of his native Paiwan culture and changes within contemporary life. As the

Paiwan language Paiwan (, ) is a native language of southern Taiwan. It is spoken as a first language by the ethnic Paiwan, a Taiwanese indigenous people, and historically as a second language by most of people in southern Taiwan. Paiwan is a Formosan languag ...

does not have a word for ''artist'', Sakuliu Pavavaljung considers himself a ''Pulima'', a Paiwan name that means 'many hands', bestowed upon those with artistic skill. Though his output spans several types of art, such as paintings, sculptures, ceramics, architecture, and installation art, Sakuliu Pavavaljung is credited with reviving ceramics within the Paiwan culture, as Paiwan nobility had used earthenware pots as betrothal gifts prior to the loss of that art in subsequent generations. Sakuliu Pavavaljung named his son Reretan, Paiwan for 'earthenware pot'. Sakuliu Pavavaljung has participated in the making of two films about Paiwan culture. He was the subject of ''Sakuliu'' (1994), which was directed by Lee Daw-ming, and shot by Lin Jian-siang, and began filming in 1992. The director and cinematographer had been in Sakuliu Pavavaljung's life for one year prior to formally filming him. ''The Last Chieftain'' was released in 1998 and credited Sakuliu Pavavaljung as a co-director alongside Lee Daw-ming. ''The Last Chieftain'' depicts leadership in Paiwan settlements and featured Sakuliu Pavavaljung speaking with Lee about political and economic issues. In 2018, Sakuliu Pavavaljung became the first Taiwanese indigenous artist to receive a in the fine arts category. He was selected to represent Taiwan at the

59th Venice Biennale The 59th Venice Biennale was an international contemporary art exhibition held between April and November 2022, having been delayed a year due to the COVID pandemic. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Artistic directo ...

. In 2021, Sakuliu Pavavaljung and another Taiwanese artist, , were invited to join ruangrupa, an Indonesian artists' collective selected to serve as artistic director for documenta fifteen. After sexual assault allegations against Sakuliu Pavavaljung surfaced in December 2021, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum stated in January 2022 that his work would no longer be featured at the 59th Venice Biennale.

documenta Documenta (often stylized documenta) is an Art exhibition, exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. Documenta was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgarte ...

suspended Sakuliu Pavavaljung's participation in the event. Aside from his art, Sakuliu Pavavaljung has interviewed a number of tribal elders and recorded aspects of Paiwan culture, such as names and their meanings.

Controversy

After artist Kuo Yu-ping published a story on Facebook about a Paiwan artist named Kulusa who had sexually assaulted a teenaged female fan, several readers believed that the artist depicted in the story was Sakuliu Pavavaljung. Days after Kuo's Facebook post, engineer Yu Yue-lien disclosed on the same social media network that Sakuliu Pavavaljung had tried to sexually assault her in 2006. Subsequently, an investigation into Sakuliu Pavavaljung began in December 2021. Republished as: Republished as: Soon after Sakuliu Pavavaljung had publicly denied the claims of sexual assault, Taipei City Councillor attended a news conference alongside the teenager's lawyer, and accused Sakuliu Pavavalung's partner of coercing the teenager to agree to a legal settlement and remain silent. In January 2022, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, organizers of the Taiwan pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale, announced that Sakuliu Pavavaljung would no longer be participating at the event.

also announced Sakuliu Pavavaljung's suspension. An investigation into Sakuliu Pavavaljung continued throughout 2022, and culminated in September of that year with an indictment on charges of offences against sexual autonomy. In 2025, he was found guilty of sexual assault, and the Pingtung District Court sentenced him to a prison term of four years and six months.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pavavaljung, Sakuliu 1960 births Living people 20th-century Taiwanese painters People from Pingtung County 21st-century ceramists Taiwanese film directors Taiwanese sculptors Paiwan people Indigenous artists