不受控的決定 Wayward Decision
2022-2023Self-published (Nov 2023)
First edition, First printing 25 copys
96 pages, Hardback 17.5 x 24cm
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Flip Through, Model Production process from yingyun on Vimeo.
每日，我從房間的窗戶凝視半屏山，但我對其豐富的石灰岩採礦歷史一無所知。直到高雄市政府決定拆除山腳下的東南水泥廠，以改變城市的工業形象時，我開始探索這座山的故事。我也才發現半屏山的樣貌，其實是一段政府與工廠之間的交互施力，在西部停止採礦25年期間啟動的大規模植樹和土地修復。
令我驚訝的是，看似天然的森林實際上是一個精心設計的景觀，引發了「何為自然」的深刻探問。水泥公司使用快速生長的入侵性銀合歡來加速景觀恢復。
在第一部分「山的理解，存於想像」這部分中，我拍攝了銀合歡樹林的照片，並將它們製成貼紙，將不同的時間線融合在一起，揭示了半屏山的現況。此外，我雕刻了一個以水泥包覆的半屏山模型，呼應了其歷史重要性和現代實踐。我在模型上覆蓋銀合歡貼紙，就像是Photoshop圖層一樣，景觀經歷了迅速的變化，不再是原來的樣子。
在第二部分「自然循環」中，我的鏡頭捕捉了自然和人類活動之間的動態互動。在1998年水泥廠進行的人工綠化後，銀合歡的蔓延加劇，促使政府介入。儘管試圖通過原生植物的重新種植來根除它，但這個循環仍然持續 - 定期入侵、清除和再度出現。
直到今天，我仍然沒有明確的答案。自然並不是毫不受人類干預的，也不僅僅存在於我們的想像中。因此，我將這個項目稱為「不受控制的選擇」，來形容既不是人類也不是自然完全掌握了這個景觀。這個項目揭示了半屏山的動態過去、現在和潛在的未來，形成了對其與人類影響和自然界複雜關係的全面探討。
Despite gazing out at Banping Mountain from my window ever since I was a child, I was always oblivious to its long history as a site for limestone mining. My awakening arrived when the Kaohsiung city government decided to dismantle the Southeast Cement Factory at the mountain’s base, altering the city’s industrial image. As I explored the area’s history and politics, I discovered the fascinating story of a public-private partnership that undertook massive reforestation and land restoration efforts 25 years after mining ceased.
To my surprise, I learned that the area’s seemingly natural forest was actually a meticulously engineered landscape. This discovery prompted me to ask questions about what the word “nature” truly means. During its reforestation project, the cement company used a fast-growing invasive species called white popinac in an attempt to expedite landscape recovery. In the chapter entitled “Understanding the Mountain,” I took photos of the white popinac forest and turned them into stickers, merging different timelines to reveal Banping Mountain’s current condition.
After creating these stickers, I then sculpted a cement model of Banping Mountain. Responding both to the area’s historical significance as well as the contemporary reforestation efforts, I covered the cement mountain with the stickers printed with images of white popinac in a way that evoked adding layers in Photoshop. The landscape underwent a rapid transformation, highlighting how it no longer resembled its original form.
In the second part of the book, “Natural Cycle,” I turned my lens toward the dynamic interplay between nature and human activity. Following the cement factory’s artificial greening efforts in 1998, the white popinac proliferation intensified, prompting government intervention. Despite efforts to eradicate it through native replantation, the cycle of periodic invasion, clearance, and resurgence continued unabated.
To this day, I lack clear answers to my questions about the meaning of the word “nature.” Nature isn’t something untouched by human interventions, nor is it something confined to our imaginations. I named this project “Wayward Decision” to intimate how neither humanity nor nature has full control over the landscape. This project reveals Banping Mountain’s dynamic past and present, as well as its potential futures, engaging in a comprehensive exploration of the intricate relationship between human influence and the natural world playing out in these environs.