“The abandoned world buried under the real world is, to a degree, more real than real, more perfect than perfect regarding the defined happy life. The ideas about ‘residue’ are built upon relativity which wrestles with the real-life.” —YAO Jui-Chung
CURATURIAL STATEMENT
The existence of ruins manifests—and makes us wonder—the previous life of a given space, followed by a question: Why was it transformed into ruins? Memories roam through the crossroad of the past and present, as the remaining objects retell the history and plants growing on dilapidated walls envision the future.
Roaming around the Ruins Series―The Civilization Built by Skeleton (1991-2005), a collection of New Taipei City Art Museum (NTCAM), takes fourteen years in the making. YAO Jui-Chung has photographed various ruins in Taiwan since the 1990s. The first part of the series consists of the artist’s photos of the dilapidated public buildings, spanning the structural change from industrial production to the development of the times. Examples include the industrial complexes and historical relics from the early days of various mining operations in the northern coastal area of Taiwan and crops production factories that once witnessed Taiwan’s export boom. Roaming around the Ruins has built a meandering road out of a way of looking—bordering time, geography and social change.
In the past, our bodies roamed within physical spaces, and now we, due to our changing lifestyles, spend more time wandering in the digital world. Browsing web pages embodies our movement across different spaces, with our mouse pointer visualizing our trace. Plugged in the Ruins attempts to utilize the internet as an alternative interface for reexamining Roaming around Ruins, from which we walk toward the present and seek its connection with the works of LI Tzi-Mei, LIU Yu ,and Meuko! Meuko! X NAXS Corp.. Through juxtaposing the work of YAO Jui-Chung and that of contemporary artists, we can reflect upon the now abandoned spaces in the photography series—made into ruins by various reasons and forces, as to create dialogues, expand their meanings, re-engage through a retrospective gaze, and imagine a new way of beings out of the remains.
The audience will experience this exhibition through the following three steps:
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STEP.1 QUESTIONS
[ PATH PREDICTION ]
Before entering the ruins, we will predict the best personal exploration path for you. Please answer the questions patiently. When you finish, the best path will be unfolded.
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STEP.2 EXPLORATION
[ NTCAM COLLECTION ]
Your best path to explore the ruins is first to experience one of the series works from the NTCAM collection, Roaming around the Ruins Series―The Civilization Built by Skeleton.
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STEP.3 CROSSOVER
[ INTERDISCIPLINARY WORKS ]
You will venture into the interdisciplinary works of the three participating artists after Roaming around the Ruins Series. You can then linger here and browse more works related to the ruins from NTCAM collections or explore different roaming paths.
CURATOR, FENG HSIN
Her research interests focus on sound art, new media and the development of contemporary exhibitions and performances in Taiwan. FENG worked as the curator of On Site Artfest (2013). Her curatorial projects include Metahistory (2018, TKG+ Projects), Niu Jun-Qiang Solo Exhibition 2018 (2018, TKG+ Projects), An Uncharted World (2021, MoCA Taipei), Offline Reality (2022, FreeS Art Space) and Recapturing the Past: An Exhibition of the Film and Audiovisual History of Taiwan (2022, TFAI). She was the co-author and co-editor of Contemporary Art Curating in Taiwan 1992-2012 (2015, ARTCO Publishing). Her writings can also be found in Taipei Fine Arts Museum Quarterly Modern Art, Artco Monthly & Investment Magazine, online platform ARTouch and CLABO.
NOTICE
*We recommend using a computer with the specifications as follows: Web Browser "Chrome", or OSX systems with M1 chip.
*Please put on headphones or turn on the speakers.
*Obstacles may occur during your exploration (for example, the website is slow to load); please wait patiently or re-enter the exhibition.
STEP.1 QUESTIONS
[ PATH PREDICTION ]
Ghost Island―Inner Vision Performance Video-Premiere Livestreaming
ORGANIZER: New Taipei City Government, Cultural Affairs Department of New Taipei City Government, New Taipei City Art Museum