The Castle Tower at 2:05 pm

作品賞析

This is a scene that all Taiwanese are familiar with: an iron rolling door painted in a cool color, windows sealed under iron bars, and pigeon coops of various sizes perched precariously on rooftops. The artist Chuang Tsung-Hsun presents Taiwan’s common architectural landscapes as objects. The “PM 2.5” not only suggests a time in the afternoon but also, and more accurately, denotes a kind of smog: particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less. The “pigeon-coop culture” not only alters the architectural landscape, but also symbolizes desire. Everyone wants a bigger, taller house, so they arbitrarily change its appearance. Although the pigeon coop is a little like a castle tower and set on a commanding height, when the PM 2.5 smog levels are high it is still difficult to see any distance. This painting thus reflects on irreversible changes brought about by industrial development; it re-examines Taiwan’s uniquely ubiquitous sheet metal buildings and the way they can be expanded or altered in any way at any time, resulting in a landscape different from any other place.