A Topographical Tale of Ximending

This photography project, started from early 2012 to 2016, is to capture the private spaces of the diverse groups’ lives at Ximending. Ximending is a commercial district situated in the west side of Taipei City. Influenced by diverse cultures throughout the various stages in history, it thus becomes the window to sub-cultures of all sorts. In addition to Japanese manga magazine stores, video game stores, tattoo parlors, and fashion shops of different countries that attract youngsters, Ximending hosts the biggest gay community in Taipei by numerous gay bars and saunas. As for Red Envelope Club (cabaret), it was established by military officers or military dependents back in 1960s to mimic the Shanghai cabarets in the good old days. To citizens of Taipei City, Ximending is part of their memory; any of them can share a story or two about it as if there were Ximending inside each and every one of them.

Because of my job as being a community health researcher, I have to do some field research at times, so I would inevitably be highly interested in various communities, neighborhoods, and local residents. There was no particular reason for choosing Ximending as the site for this photo project. Even though I would go watch movies or dine out with friends and family at Ximending, it is an unfamiliar place to me, nevertheless. I simply adore out of intuition the conflicts between the new and the old as well as the atmosphere of different people gathering here in one place. Originally, this photo project started from scenes in outdoor. Before long, I realized that the most fascinating places in Ximending are those in back alleys or archaic buildings, shelters or secluded places private to certain groups. An unknown space or dimension thus unfolds each time when someone walks through a door, as if they walked into the inner psychic of a culture, and of individuals wandering there.

Most of the photos in this book were shot intentionally at the time when the shops were open and no guest visited yet, so as to capture the vibrant but tranquil moment: time frozen within a tangible venue. Via the photos of vacant spaces, I hope the readers, given the details of the spaces, can speculate and sense the figures as well as the stories happened there. I hope these photos take the readers, not just to “crossover” into a realm of another stranger (marginalized or heterogeneous to the mainstream of the society perhaps), but to take a leap into another layer of image space full of imagination.

西門時刻

這個攝影主題從2012年初進行到2016年，是關於西門町時間和空間的消逝。西門町位在台北市西區，這裡因為受到不同歷史階段和族群文化的影響，而成為各種次文化的匯聚之地。除了有吸引青少年的日本漫畫雜誌及電玩專賣店、刺青店、各國的服飾店等等之外，西門町也是台北市最大的同志聚會場所，有許多同志酒吧和三溫暖在此開設。而紅包場則是起源於1960年代，由大陸來台的軍官、軍眷，模仿上海歌廳形式所設，來緬懷當時的風華。對於台北市民來說，西門町是記憶裡的一部分；談到西門町，每個人總可以講起一兩個小故事，好似心中都有一個自己的西門町。

因為工作上有時會需要做社區田野調查，所以我自然而然地對於不同的社區、街區和在地的居民會有高度的好奇心和興趣。當初選擇西門町作為拍攝的地點也沒有多大的理由，即便我偶爾會和家人朋友去西門町看電影、吃個東西，但對於西門町其實是陌生的。我只是直覺喜歡新舊衝突、不同的人匯聚在此地的感覺。這個拍攝計畫一開始是從戶外的場景開始拍攝，但過了沒多久我便發現，­­­­西門町最迷人的地方，是在於後巷或是古老大樓內，屬於某個族群的隱蔽處或私密空間，每當走進了某一扇門、一個未知的空間象度展開，就像是走入了另一群人的心靈世界。

這本攝影集大部分的照片，我特意挑選無人但仍在營業的時候來拍攝，顯現有生息卻片刻靜止的狀態：雖然是具體的空間，卻凍結時間的氣味。藉著拍攝無人的空間，希望讓觀者能經由空間的細節，去猜想、感覺裡面曾經停留的人物和故事。這些照片也希望帶著觀者「越界」，不僅僅是進到另外一群不熟悉的人（對主流社會而言甚至是邊緣異質）的場域，也希望觀者能夠縱身跨越、跳入另一層想像力豐富的影像空間。