Starting from photographs taken by an anonymous Taiwanese traveler in Germany in 1965, The Wall comprises a faux wall in the style of the Berlin Wall which shows enlarged prints of the photographs taken by the unknown traveler. In these images, one can see the national flag of the Republic of China waving in the German streets, an R.O.C. stall in a park in Germany, the country’s post-war urban reconstruction, the old Berlin Wall before its conversion, as well as Germany’s technological development and cultural preservation. After further research, one discovers that the Taiwanese traveler visited Germany to see the International Mobility Show in Munich that year, which was joined by the R.O.C. and its national flag was printed in the official marketing materials.
The artist pastes the old poster-like prints of these photographs on the faux wall, and then covers them with street graffiti, which is considered the most direct subcultural form of occupation. The content of the graffiti, on the other hand, displays the Taiwanese consciousness, indicating the graffiti is a subcultural declaration to fight against the mainstream consciousness from a different era. However, unlike its now collapsed counterpart, the Berlin Wall, the wall that still stands erect in the exhibition denotes a form of denial. In other words, as one longs for the sight in a distant place, he or she also averts intentionally the historical sorrows which had befallen the place, losing sight of the fact that the place is known precisely because of its tragic past. Through the lens of another country’s history of division, The Wall is a metaphor for Taiwan’s history, as well as the multiple and divergent imaginations of its present and future.
