Roadside Picnic in Taipei

Taipei Artist Village, Bopiliao Historical Block/Taipei/2020

Din-a-ka (亭仔脚 =騎樓 Qilou) (lit. covered walkway or arcade) is one of Taiwan's most historical architectural features. I have focused on those iconic structures and researched their diverse usages. While Din-a-ka is private property, a Din-a-ka's owner is required to grant access to the public, especially pedestrians. A Din-a-ka constitutes an intermediate zone between public and private, thus forming an ambiguous boundary.

I availed of the Din-a-ka's structural peculiarities to create a large camera obscura (pinhole camera). I then used this camera to take life-size photos and allowed passers-by and visitors to step inside this extra-large camera in order to experience the interior of the viewing structure. Those buildings have formed part of this history's cityscape. And, in turn, those buildings have been witnessing various streetscapes over the course of the Taipei's long history. For the exhibition at TAV, I mainly exhibit processes of the project, which is composed of the actual pinhole photo and the camera obscura rebuilt with the original wood panels I used for the project.