Once

作品賞析

In artist Tsai Meng-Chang’s “Invisible City” series, all of the subjects are chosen from urban fringes and corners. He persistently uses his brush to record scenes that are about to vanish—that is, scenes soon to be left behind. His work, Once Was, depicts torn curtains hanging from the decaying outer wall of an abandoned kindergarten; the curtains conceal the traces of people’s lives. Many people have asked him why he did not record these scenes directly through photography. He replied that instead of using photography to record a moment of urban change in 1/125th of a second, he would rather use 125 hours to slowly build up a scene. Tsai Meng-Chang’s works do not convey any opinions or criticisms, because he is concerned about how the ordinary people left behind can settle down and survive in the rapid rhythms of urban change. Although the painting depicts destruction and disappearance, its underlying humanistic concern gives the ruins an almost eternal feeling.