THE RECYCLING CENTER IN GUANG WU PRIMARY SCHOOL
Tag: Taiwan
OLIVER LIN
Oliver Lin, the Vice President of TDRI
ART4D TALKS WITH OLIVER LIN, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE TAIWAN DESIGN RESEARCH INSTITUTE (TDRI) ABOUT THE UTILIZATION OF RESEARCH TO DEVELOP THE DESIGN INDUSTRY
PHOTO ESSAY : MATSU ISLANDS, 2022
TEXT & PHOTO: NAPAT CHARITBUTRA
(For Thai, press here)
A series of photographs documenting my journey to visit a Taiwanese friend on Matsu Islands, an archipelago of 36 islands and islets that’s about an 8-hour boat ride from Taiwan and less than 30 minutes away from China. The trip took place in the time when Thai media’s news coverages on the Taiwan-China conflict were more frequent and intense than ever.
The observation points built on almost every cliff on the islands house old military bunkers overlooking rocky shores, endless aquatic mass and waves and herds of goats with windmills owned by China visible from a distance. Several military bases are still active while some have been turned into locally-run hostels and cafes. My Taiwanese friend told me how mountains on the island were heavily drilled into holes for the military to transport weapons in the case roadways were damaged. As I listened to the story, my eyes caught the sight of people, both locals and tourists, going on about their days, like any other ordinary day. “They’re used to this kind of life; the life trapped between the war in the past and the war that hasn’t come.”
Looking at this set of photographs again when I’m back in Thailand, the story and memories feel strangely distant, like something out of a Wikipedia page. The pictures are informative and don’t tell anything much more than the islands’ geographical conditions. The feelings made me ask myself, “What do I actually know about Taiwan?”
Most people spend their entire life trying to understand their own countries; their own roots and birthplaces. Spending merely nine months in Taiwan and the 9 days I spent traveling around Matsu Islands, I don’t dare say that I know more about Taiwan than most Thai people. But it frustrates me every time I hear someone casually say, ‘Taiwan and China are about to start a war, you know,’ and they somehow make war sound so nonchalant.
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Napat ‘Mai’ Charitbutra is a writer and a post-graduate student who studied Creative Industries Design in Tainan, Taiwan.
TAINAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
MOST OF THE LIBRARIES IN TAIWAN EARN THE TITLE OF ‘THE LAND OF SILENT’. THEY ARE PLACES WHERE TYPING AND MOUSE-CLICKING SOUNDS COULD DISTURB THE PEOPLE INSIDE. HOWEVER, TAINAN PUBLIC LIBRARY IN YONGKANG DISTRICT DESIGNED BY MECANOO AND MAYU ARCHITECTS SEEMS TO HAVE A MORE FRIENDLY VIBE AND ALLOWS ANYONE TO SPEAK UP AND DISCUSS WITH OTHERS WITHOUT FEELING GUILTY
TAIWAN DESIGN EXPO’21 IN CHIAYI – CITY AS HOME
CHECK OUT TAIWANESE DESIGN AND FIND OUT HOW MIGHT A ‘CITY’ BE TURNED INTO A ‘HOME’ IN TAIWAN DESIGN EXPO’21 IN CHIAYI HELD UNDER THE THEME ‘CITY AS HOME’ IN CHIAYI, A SMALL TOWN IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF TAIWAN TO CIRCULATE DESIGNS TO THE LOCALS
HEITO 1909
ECG INTERNATIONAL LANDSCAPE CONSULTANTS FROM TAIWAN RENOVATED THE DESERTED SUGAR FACTORY INTO HEITO 1909, A PUBLIC PARK THAT REPRESENTS SIMULTANEOUSLY BOTH URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION OF OLD BUILDINGS
PHANTASMAPOLIS 2021 ASIAN ART BIENNIAL
LET’S EXPLORE THE IDENTITY AND UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF ASIAN WITH THE 8TH ASIAN ART BIENNIAL AT NATIONAL TAIWAN MUSEUM OF FINE ART, TAICHUNG, TAIWAN (ROC)
THE URBAN EXORCIST IN TAINAN
