Today, I’m catching the train up to Taipei to spend a day in the recording studio. I’ll be recording my English translation of the audio guide for an exhibition of work at the National Taiwan Museum by the Taiwanese artist Tân Têng-pho 陳澄波 (Chen Cheng-po).
The exhibition marks the 130th birthday of this fascinating artist. Born in Chiayi 嘉義 during the Japanese colonial period, Tân trained in painting first in Taiwan, and then at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. After graduating, he taught in Shanghai, before returning to Taiwan in 1933. In 1947, after the 228 Massacre, he was arrested by the military and shot outside Chiayi station.
The exhibition, however, focusses not on Tân’s life in Taiwan’s troubled 20th century, but on the landscapes of Taiwan, and the various forces that have shaped these landscapes. It’s been an interesting project to be involved in. I’ve also been responsible for translating the audio guide from Mandarin into English, so along the way, I have come to know a lot more about Taiwan’s geology, geography and various meteorological quirks.
The exhibition is called 走揣・咱的所在 Tsáu-tshuē - Lán ê Sóo-tsāi. The title is in Taiwanese, and it translates as Wandering and Seeking: Our Shared Dwelling Place. Here’s the exhibition poster.
The exhibition runs at the National Museum from 3rd December this year (2024) to the 11th May next year. So if you are in town, go and have a look, pick up the audio guide, and you can hear my dulcet tones informing you about such esoteric mysteries as how the Kuroshio current, the monsoon winds and the Tropic of Cancer have together shaped Taiwan’s unique landscape.
I’m not going to get a chance to head up to Taipei for the opening, but we’re in town for a couple of weeks in January during our writing residency at the Taiwan Literature Base, so we’re hoping to catch up with it then.
Image: 《淡水夕照》 by Tân Têng-pho. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
