Wayfaring: Photography in 1970s-80s Taiwan

Abstract

Catalogue publication for Wayfaring: Photography in 1970s-80s Taiwan, held at the Australian Centre on China in the World, 30th July to 28th October 2021.

As Taiwanese society was coming to terms with a new political reality in the 1970s and 1980s, many artists and intellectuals addressed issues of locality, history and cultural identity. Despite the pressure on civil society, Taiwan’s visual culture flourished, with photography playing a key role as a visual medium that intersected many creative practices and platforms. Pioneering photographers produced groundbreaking works across these decades, from experimental art to photojournalism and much in between. ‘Wayfaring’ refers to the term zhaolu (找路), used by seminal photographer Chang Chao-Tang to discuss his work at this time. Literally meaning to search for (zhao) a path or road (lu), here it intends to lyrically evoke both the actual journeys that artists undertook to photograph an increasingly diverse idea of place and ‘people’, as well as the personal, introspective search for new ways forward, through photographic experimentation. Drawn principally from the collection of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, the broad selection of photographic artworks reflects the diversity and shifting experiences of Taiwanese society and culture at this pivotal time. The exhibition featured 35 artworks by 12 artists, including: Chang Chao-Tang 張照堂, Chien Yun-Ping 簡永彬, Chuang Ling 莊靈, Ho Ching-Tai 何經泰, Hou Tsung-Hui 侯聰慧, Hsieh Chun-Te 謝春德, Hsieh San-Tai 謝三泰, Juan I-Jong 阮義忠, Kao Chung-Li 高重黎, Lien Hui-Ling 連慧玲, Wang Hsin 王信, Yeh Ching-Fang 葉清芳. This illustrated catalogue introduces each of these artists and their works, with an introductory curatorial essay on photography in 1970s-80s Taiwan, a time of transition from decades of martial law. Show more