The Big Family of Dongmen Market

作品賞析

The subject of TSAI Yi-Hsun’s photographic work The Big Family of Dongmen Market is the old Dongmen Market in the city of Taoyuan. This piece examines the effect of urban renewal on the lives of city residents. Taoyuan’s Dongmen Market was in operation for over 50 years. Its origin can be traced back to 1958, when local residents pooled their money to build a trading center. Stalls were opened on the ground floor, and the second floor served as a residential space. The second and third generations of many stall owners were born and raised in this market area, and they retain feelings of strong sentimentality and identity with this place. But Dongmen Market was a target of urban renewal and later suffered fire damage, deeply affecting the lives of residents who made their living there. In this piece, Tsai rethinks the relationship between private life and the public interest. In this photograph, the empty market, dust-coated tiles and damaged ceiling hint at the market’s state of neglect. Yellow cordons, like spider webs, crisscross amongst the stalls, insinuating that this market, once closely linked to local residents’ lives and work, is a place filled with stories.