2016.3.5 Book Launch: Mirage – Disused Public Property in Taiwan by Yao Jui-Chung＋Lost Society Document 新書發表：《海市蜃樓》英文版 姚瑞中＋失落社會檔案室

For English please scroll down.
This event will be conducted in Chinese.
本活動將以中文進行。

時間：2016/3/5 Sat 3pm
地點：台北當代藝術中心，台北市大同區保安街49巷11號1樓（捷運大橋頭站）
主講人：姚瑞中
與談人：失落社會檔案室

臺灣政府最不願承認的真相──
歷時五年，超過200位學生實地踏查
揭露100件閒置公共設施的崩壞現狀

臺灣各地常可見偌大且無人使用的公共建設，俗稱「蚊子館」。它們多半來自錯誤政策，政府以擴大內需、拉近城鄉差距為由，在錯估使用率、規劃設計不良的情況下，閒置空間遍佈全國，至今仍方興未艾。本計畫由藝術家姚瑞中與學生們組成的「失落社會檔案室」執行，針對花費巨資興建的公共設施，每年選出一百件案例集結為《海市蜃樓》，五年來已出版了四冊。本書從歷年來的四百件案例精選一百件，勾勒出台灣社會的荒謬現狀。除了提供大眾反思的參考之外，也讓尚未認真凝視自己家鄉的年輕學子，藉由相機鏡頭，開啓了一次另類對話的可能。

姚瑞中
1969年生於台灣台北，1994年國立藝術學院 (國立台北藝術大學)美術系畢業，曾代表台灣參加1997年威尼斯雙年展、2005年橫濱三年展、2009年亞太三年展、2010年台北雙年展聯動計劃、2012年上海雙年展、2013年北京攝影雙年展、「集群藝術獎」得主，2014年深圳國際雕塑雙年展、威尼斯建築雙年展、首爾國際媒體藝術雙年展、英國曼徹斯特亞洲藝術三年展、新加坡「亞太藝術獎公眾獎」，2015年亞洲雙年展，2016年雪梨雙年展。1992年曾擔任天打那實驗體團長、1994年楊德昌電影美術指導、2006-2009年非常廟藝文空間執行長等工作。

專長為攝影、裝置及繪畫，其作品涉獵層面廣泛，主要探討人類一種荒謬處境，其代表作品包括探討台灣主體性問題的《本土佔領行動》(1994)、顛覆中國近代史政治神話的《反攻大陸行動》(1997)，以及探討後殖民主義的《天下為公行動》(1997~2000)，與「行動三部曲外一章」的《萬里長征行動之乾坤大挪移》(2002)，2007年發表的《歷史幽魂》、《分列式》及《玉山飄浮》三件錄像，則以幽默手法對過去的威權統治進行顛覆。除此之外，他也透過攝影裝置手法，以「金碧山水」風格結合台灣民間充斥的怪力亂神現象，呈現台灣特有的一種虛假、疏離的「冷現實」，代表作品為《獸身供養》(2000)、《野蠻聖境》(2000)及《天堂變》(2001)系列；而另一個以銀箔結合攝影裝置的系列作品《死之慾》(2002)、《地獄頌》(2003)，則試圖探討肉體與靈魂間的永恆議題。自2005年起整理過去十五年在台灣各處踏查所拍攝的廢墟照片，歸納了包括工業、神偶、建築及軍事廢墟四大部份，呈現台灣在全球化潮流與特殊歷史背後中，所隱藏著的龐大意識形態黑洞，延續「人類歷史的命運，具有某種無可救藥的荒謬性！」的創作主軸。2007年後開始繪製《忘德賦》(2007)、《世外塵》(2008~2012)、《如夢令》(2008~2011)、《恨纏綿》(2009)及《甜蜜蜜》(2010~2012)…，改寫並挪用中國美術史經典畫作，再將其轉化成個人生活或真實故事，試圖將宏大史詩文本轉化為私微自傳敘事，以「偽山水」策略對所謂的正統性進行篡位。 2010年至2016年帶領二百二十餘位同學返鄉進行《海市蜃樓Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ 、V -台灣公共閒置設施》拍攝計劃，以「微型文化行動」概念提醒社會大眾並提供政府有關部門參考，出版品及展覽引起社會高度關注。

著有《台灣裝置藝術1991-2001》(2002)、《台灣當代攝影新潮流Since 1999》(2003)、《台灣廢墟迷走》(2004)、《台灣行為藝術檔案1978~2004》(2005)、《流浪在前衛的國度》(2005)、《廢島》(2007)、《姚瑞中》(2008)、《人外人》(2008)、《幽暗微光》(2009)、《逛前衛》(2010，合著) 、《恨纏綿》(2010)、《海市蜃樓》(2010，編著)、《海市蜃樓Ⅱ》(2011，編著)、《萬歲山水》(2012)、《萬萬歲》(2013)、《海市蜃樓Ⅲ》(2013，編著)、《小幻影》(2013) 、《海市蜃樓Ⅳ》(2014，編著) 、《Mirage》(2016，編著) 、《海市蜃樓V》(2016，編著) 、《好時光》(2016) 、 《腦殘遊記》(2016)等書。作品曾被台北市立美術館、高雄市立美術館、國立台灣美術館、台中亞洲美術館、澳洲昆士蘭美術館、美國康乃爾大學美術館、舊金山Kadist藝術基金會、法國國家圖書館、韓國首爾市立美術館、韓國全北道立美術館、韓國光州文化殿堂以及許多國內外私人單位典藏。曾兼任於國立台北藝術大學、國立台灣科技大學、實踐大學，目前兼任於國立臺灣師範大學美術系及國立台北教育大學藝設系。

失落社會檔案室
為一臨時性組織，由姚瑞中老師號召一堂課的學生組成，以一學期時間返回故鄉進行攝影踏查與書寫。參與一至五集的成員超過二百二十位，包括北藝大美術系 師大美術系及北教大藝設系，以及一些外系同學參與。他們以有限裝備與無限熱忱走訪全國各地，自2010年三月至2016年三月，過濾出五百餘件閒置或低度使用的案例與活化例子，透過生動文字的敘述與臨場第一手照片，呈現出全球化社會發展的特殊在地現象，以公民參與方式提醒社會大眾關注，並提供政府相關單位參考改善。

Time: 2016/3/5 Sat 3pm
Venue: Taipei Contemporary Art Center, No. 11, Lane 49, Baoan Street, Taipei (MRT: Daqiaotou Station)
Speaker: Yao Jui-Chung
In conversation with: LSD (Lost Society Document)

The truth that Taiwanese government was most reluctant to admit
5 years of research by around 200 students
Exposed over 400 cases of disused public facilities
––This book includes 100 selected cases.

Often seen in places around Taiwan, these large and unused public facilities are also known as “mosquito pavilions”. They often arise from inappropriate policies, where government, in the name of expanding internal consumptions and closing the urban and rural gaps, misjudge usage rates, implement inappropriate plans and designs, giving rise to the disused spaces around the country, a practice that till this day still remained. This project was executed by “Lost Society Document” formed by artist YAO Jui-Chung and students, targeting public facilities that cost huge funds in construction over the recent twenty years, every year one hundred cases that required the most attention and review was collected to form Mirage: Disused Public Property in Taiwan, over the past four years four volumes was published. This book selected one hundred critical cases from the four hundred cases exposed by the series, outlining the absurd state of Taiwanese society. In addition to providing the public a reference for reflection, it also allowed youths who have yet to serious observed their hometown to open up an alternative dialogue through the lens of the camera.

Yao Jui-Chung
Yao Jui-Chung was born in 1969. Lives and works in Taipei. He graduated from The National Institute of The Arts (Taipei National University of the Arts) with a degree in Art Theory. His works has been widely exhibited in numerous international exhibitions. In 1997, he represented Taiwan in “Facing Faces-Taiwan” at the Venice Biennale. After that, he took part in the International Triennale of Contemporary Art Yokohama (2005), APT6 (2009), Taipei biennial (2010), Shanghai Biennale(2012), Beijing Photo Biennale(2013), Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale(2014), Venice Architecture Biennale, Media City Seoul Biennale(2014), Asia Triennial Manchester (2014), Asia Biennale(2015) and Sydney Biennale(2016). Yao is the winner of The Multitude Art Prize in 2013 and 2014 Asia pacific Art Prize. We can also find him widely involved in the fields of theatre and films.

Yao specializes in photography, installation and painting. The themes of his works are varied, but most importantly they all examine the absurdity of the human condition. Representative works include Action Series. We can find the clue he explores the question of Taiwan’s identity in Military take over (1994), subverts modern Chinese political myths in Recovering Mainland China (1997), and examines post-colonialism in The World is for All (1997~2000) as well as Long March-Shifting the Universe (2002). In recent years, he has created photo installations combining the style of “gold and green landscape” with the superstitions that permeate Taiwanese folklore, expressing a false and alienated “cold reality” that is specific to Taiwan. Representative works include the series of Celestial Barbarians (2000), Savage Paradise (2000) and Heaven (2001). Another photo installation series Libido of Death (2002) and Hill (2003) tries to probe into the eternal issue of body and soul. Recently, Yao Jui-Chung has assembled all the black-and-white photos of ruins he took in the past fifteen years, grouped under the themes of industry, religious idols, architecture and military bases. They reveal the enormous ideological black hole in Taiwan hidden behind the trends of globalization and Taiwan’s specific historical background as a continuation of the main theme of his work: the absurdity of the historical destiny of humanity. Since 2007, Yao has started to create a series of works including Wonderful (2007), Dust in the Wind (2008~2010), Dreamy (2008~2010), Romance (2009) and Honeymoon (2010~2011). He appropriates masterpieces from Chinese art history and recreates them in his own way, transforming them into his personal history or real stories in an attempt to turn grand narratives into the trivial affairs of his individual life. Yao intends to usurp so called orthodoxy with his recreated landscapes. In 2010, Yao grouped his students into a team of photography workshop called “Lost Society Document”(LSD). He encouraged them to photograph and survey in their hometowns. Through the way of field survey, they attempt to draw the outline of “mosquito houses” which have been widely criticized, publish three books named “Mirage: Disused Public Property in Taiwan”, and practice the possibility of observing the society by the meaning of art.

Apart from creating art, Yao Jui-Chung has curated exhibitions including The Realm of Illusion-The New wave of Taiwan Photography (2002), King-Kon Never Die -The Contemporary Performance & Video art in Taiwan (2003) and Spellbound Aura-The New Vision of Chinese Photography (2004). His essays have been published in many art journals. He has also published several books, including Installation Art in Taiwan since 1991-2001 (2002), The New Wave of Contemporary Taiwan Photography Since 1999 (2003), Roam The Ruins of Taiwan (2004), Performance Art in Taiwan 1978~2004 (2005), A Walk in the Contemporary Art : Roaming the Rebellious Streets (2005), Ruined Islands (2007), Yao Jui-Chung (2008), Beyond humanity (2008), Nebulous light (2009), and Biennial-Hop (2010), “Mirage: Disused Public Property in Taiwan ⅠⅡⅢⅣ(2010~2014). His works have been collected by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan; the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art Collection, Cornell University, USA; Bibliothèque National de France, Paris, France (French National Library, Paris); Art Museum of Seoul, and many other private collectors. Now, Yao Jui-Chung works as an artist and teacher at the National Taiwan Normal University Department of Fine Arts.

LSD (Lost Society Document)
When the new semester began in February 2010, Yao Jui-chung, presiding over the first classes of the fine arts departments at Taipei National University of the Arts and the National Taiwan Normal University, asked the students about their expectations for this class: did they wish to follow the normal class format, where the teacher would teach related knowledge, or would they like to use the class to do a “mosquito hall” investigation? The fifty-some students at the two universities decided to make a Taiwan-wide “mosquito hall” survey as the assignment for this semester. Through half a year of investigation across the island, the students identified one hundred and forty seven “mosquito hall” locations, compiling the 684 page book Mirage – Disused Public Property in Taiwan, which outlines an absurd situation in Taiwanese society, embodying the fact that “misguided policy is worse than corruption”. It was widely reported in the media, and attracted a high level of attention from the government, even prompting a call from the Vice President and a visit from the Premier of the Executive Yuan, who advised all relevant departments to engage in an inspection of said facilities, ordering them to revive all mosquito halls within a year or consider demolishing them. Through two years of homework, the students’ art action was like a stone trown into a pond, sending ripples outwards, shaking a presumably calm society and forcing them to face reality. The significance and value of this “participation” lie in the fact that it is both a collective action by Yao Jui-chung and his students, and in that it used artistic methods to hold up a social issue to scrutiny and engage the awareness of the people in regards to that issue.