“For me each photo represents a moment, like breathing. Who can say the breath before is more important than the one after? They are continuous and follow each other until everything stops.”─Mario Giacomelli (1925-2000)

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This May, I came to Hualien and settled in a renovated military fortress in Yanliao. When you cross the Hualien Bridge on Provincial Highway 11, the first turn you see will lead you to the sea, which is rough and difficult to drive through; however, it seems to be a passage leading to a unique time and space.

 

You can never live somewhere this close to the sea!

 

The studio on the shore faces the mouth of Hualien River to the Pacific Ocean, and the slightly raised Qiqi Highland behind it is the northern end of the Coastal Mountains. The intersection of the river and the sea forms an S-shaped headland beach with a path in the middle. On the east bank of the beach are rushing waves, and on the other side of the beach, there are streams that are stable and directional regardless of the weather, flowing towards the headland. The shape of the headland is affected by the rainfall, water level, and tides, transitioning like the Yin Yang flow in the Taijitu.

 

I found real peace here. I was here at the perfect season, with the waves hitting the shore at a steady rhythm, dividing the time of the day into more subtle intervals that continuously changed. During my two-month residency, I let myself be a leaf, and allowed these small changes to lead and settle me in the environment.

 

Every image is like breathing. The papaya farm, the texture of the Macaranga tanarius leaves, the shadows of the trees, the paths left by the insects, and the bark of the eucalyptus... This online sharing session will consist of some fragments of images. I will divide my residency experience into small pieces and spread them out on the workbench, visualizing them as the Hualien River in the front, stretching, present and intact, flowing slowly towards the sea.

 

(Written on June 11, 2021, at the small fortress located at Hualien Yanliao/on the Olive Tree Workbench)

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◇ Event Date: Jun 27, 2021

◇ Event Venue: The event will be held on Google Meet

​​◇ Event FB Page: https://reurl.cc/DgKevE