The Vanishing Portraits

作品賞析

LIU Yun-Yi is a Taiwanese artist living in Germany, and her Vanishing Portraits series depict a collection of buildings in East German and Taiwanese cities that have either disappeared or were left forgotten as a result of changes in time or war. The Vanishing Portraits I is a shot of an old building in East Germany. The broken windows, weathered tiling, and plant twigs growing out of the walls accentuate the building’s dilapidated and neglected appearance. However, the fine and intricate carvings point towards the building’s once glorious past and history. A ray of light from the setting sun basks the building in a pale golden veil. The reflection of the building upon the water surface adds to its faded glory. Frontal photographs of memorial-like buildings taken by LIU Yun-Yi serve to open a gateway to personal and historical eternity, magically resurrecting a fading memory.