42/ The 561st Hour of Occupation

2014
By Yuan Goang-Ming
Duration: 5:56 min.

About the work:
“For the first time in Taiwan history, the students occupied the Taiwan’s parliament for 585 hours in 2014. The chamber place of the Legislative Yuan, in terms of painting, resembles a stable form of triangle composition, like half of the Colosseum. The vanishing point of perspective in this place locates on the lectern and the portrait of Sun Yet-Sen, below which the hours of students’ occupation is marked. The soundtrack of this documentary is derived from our national anthem, a song that symbolizes the eternity of our country. I slow down the playback speed of the anthem by 50%, turning the chamber into a church pervading a sacred and sacrificial atmosphere. As a result, time flies back and forth among the past, present, and future, and among abundance, decadence, and void.

The linear scan of the unoccupied chamber enables and compels us to review the objects that previously do not belong to this place. These objects that outline the background of this venue, exhibit the pattern and odor of the movement all inspire the imagination of the future development after the withdrawal. In other words, this space fosters non-linear senses of time and history. This vanishing ephemeral scenery transforms the chamber which is made familiar to us by the mass media, presenting a calmer spectacle more magnificent than the media spectacle.” —Yuan Goang-Ming