There is Another Capital Beneath the Waves

浪のしたにも都のさぶらふぞ

Hsu Chai-Wei + Chang Ting-Tong + Cheng Hsien-Yu In collaboration with YCAM, 6 channel videos, VR performance Approx. 40 min.許家維＋張碩尹＋鄭先喻與YCAM合作，6頻道錄像、虛擬現實表演，約40分鐘,2023

《浪濤之下,亦有皇都》為山口媒體藝術中心(山口情報芸術センター,以下簡稱YCAM)與許家維、張碩尹、鄭先喻三位藝術家共創的新作。

三位藝術家各自囊括臺灣重要藝術獎項,並屢屢獲邀參與國際展演而受世界矚目。近年三人攜手於藝術計畫中著眼臺灣日治時期糖業發展,回顧臺灣與日本在歷史上的關係與現代化之軌跡。此作延續前述藝術計畫,以隨著日本現代化如火如荼發展工業、催生國際商港「門司港」的北九州市為背景,搬演製作日本傳統偶戲「人形淨琉璃」與當代動畫連動共構之劇,再加上展場中的舞台組成影像與現場演出交織的大作。

《浪濤之下,亦有皇都》作品舞台乃是二十世紀前葉隨日本現代化腳步如火如荼發展工業、催生國際商港「門司港」的北九州市門司區。今日門司區內的百年糖廠仍在營運中,且過去與虎尾糖廠曾屬同一個企業傘下,可見虎尾與門司兩鎮在歷史上的緊密連結。兩鎮另一共同點則是在二戰期間皆被視為戰略要塞,並在戰爭白熱化之際遭受大規模空襲。本作疊合門司與門司港的現代化、第二次世界大戰的歷史及在地流傳的平家異聞等跨時空又游離於事實與傳說之際的題材,並使日本傳統偶戲「人形淨琉璃」、當代動畫技術、音樂與展覽現場演出等古今表演藝術交織共構。新作標題「浪濤之下,亦有皇都」,更是引用了《平家物語》中描述壇之浦戰爭的段落。

本作中「操偶師與人偶」、「表演者與數位分身」象徵著「操縱與被操縱的關係」。而驅動這般不斷歷史重演又彼此拉鋸擺盪關係的驅動力又究竟為何?本作使傳統與當代藝術表現形式相織應和,在現實世界和虛擬世界往來穿梭的同時向觀者探問。

撮影：山中慎太郎（Qsyum!）

写真提供：山口情報芸術センター［YCAM］

There is Another Capital Beneath the Waves is a collaborative work between The Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] and artists Chia-Wei Hsu, Ting-Tong Chang, and Hsien-Yu Cheng.

Individually, each of the artists is an internationally operating and reputed artist who has won major art awards in Taiwan in the past, and has participated in art exhibitions around the world. In recent years, the three of them have been collaborating on a project exploring the memory of modernization and historical relations between Taiwan and Japan, inspired by aspects of industrial sugar production in Taiwan during the time of Japanese rule.

There is Another Capital Beneath the Waves is a work that was realized as part two of Crystal Seeding(2021). It is set in Moji, a town in Kitakyushu where a sugar mill is still operating today. The exhibition looks from various angles at the memory of the two towns, which seem to be mirroring each otherʼs fate within the history of modernization in East Asia.

There is a sugar mill also in Moji today, which used to be operated by the same company that also operated a mill in Huwei, Taiwan. This is how the two towns have been connected through sugar. Both were strategically important bases during the war, and they both suffered severe damage in air raids when the war intensified.

In this work, the memories of war and modernization in Moji and Moji Port are portrayed by means of Japanese traditional joruri puppet theater, CG animation, music and live performance, while also overlapping with the famous local tale of the Heike clan. The title is in fact a line from the Heike Monogatari that describes scenes of the Battle of Dannoura.

The movements of the puppet masters and puppets, performers and avatars, symbolically suggest the complexly tangled relationship of “controlling and being controlled.” What exactly is the driving force that has repeatedly generated this relationship throughout history? This is the question that this work inspires the viewer to explore through a mixture of traditional and contemporary styles, while moving back and forth between the real and the virtual world.

Photo by Shintaro Yamanaka (Qsyum!)

Courtesy of Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM]

Cast: Bunraku Puppeteer: YOSHIDA Tamasuke, KIRITAKE Monyoshi, YOSHIDA Tamamichi (BUNRAKU-KYOKAI) | Tayu: TAKEMOTO Tomowaka | Shamisen Player: TANAKA Yumiko | Percussionist: Taikimen (YAMAZAKI Taiki) | Lab Researcher: ITO Takayuki* | VR Performer: SAKAI Haruka, CHEN Ciou-Ye

Artististic Direction: HSU Chia-Wei, CHANG Ting-Tong, CHENG Hsien-Yu | Curation: YOSHIZAKI Kazuhiko* | Technical Direction: TOKISATO Mitsuru*, OWAKI Richi*, ITO Takayuki* | Project Management: CHAO I-Tian | Research & Shooting Coordination: IWAMOTO Fumiwo, IKEGAMI Takahiro (Mojiko Art Platform), CHAO I-Tian

Video Direction: HSU Chia-Wei | Shooting Direction: MORIUCHI Yasuhiro | Shooting Crew: MORIUCHI Yasuhiro, CHENG Yu-Chen, TOKISATO Mitsuru*, YAMAOKA Daichi*, OWAKI Richi* | Drone Shooting: SHIRASAWA Tetsuhiro | Motion Capture: OWAKI Richi*, TOKISATO Mitsuru* | 3D Scan: TAKAHARA Fumie*, TOKISATO Mitsuru* | Sound Recording: KASAI Toshihiko, KASE Takuma, NAKAUE Junji*, ITO Takayuki* | Lighting: TAKAHARA Fumie* | Costume Design: CHEN Hikky | Make-up: CHENG Hsien-Yu, CHEN Hikky | Production Stage Management: NG Clarence* | Instrument Design: CHANG Ting-Tong | Instrument Production: LIN Kuo-Wei, OWAKI Richi*, TOKISATO Mitsuru* | Alcohol Production: ITO Takayuki*, TAKAHARA Fumie*, OHTA Hazuki* | Set Design: CHANG Ting-Tong | Set Production: SUPER FACTORY, OWAKI Richi*, ANDO Mitsuhito*, ISHIZAKI Tomoko*, SHOBUN Ayumi* | Video Editing: HSU Chia-Wei | Video Coloring: YANG Tzu-Yi | VFX: TSAI Quint　YANG Tzu-Yi | CG Production: HANZAWA Tomoro | CG Animation: TOKISATO Mitsuru* | CG Animation Assistance: ITAKURA Hayato* | Performance Direction: CHANG Ting-Tong | Stage Management: NG Clarence* | Installation Design: CHANG Ting-Tong, CHENG Hsien-Yu | Media Sync System: NAKAUE Junji* | Coordination: MENON Kartika*, FUKUCHI Hikari*, NAKAJIMA Chisako

Script: YANG Kai-Ting, CHANG Ting-Tong | Japanese Translation: IKEDA Lily Ai | English Translation: IWAMOTO Fumiwo, IKEGAMI Takahiro | Japanese Translation Support: YAMAMOTO Hiroki + h (Inu no senaka-za), TANAKA Yumiko | Subtitles: Cheng Yu Chen, Hayato Itakura*

Special Thanks: Mojiko Art Platform, Kanmon Seito Co. Ltd., Shin-Moji Saiseki Co. Ltd., Sankiro, Kitakyushu Film Commission, Taiwan Sugar Coporation Huwei Sugar Factory, people in Moji and Mojiko who cooperatated all those who cooperated in the shooting at Moji and Mojiko

This project has been granted subsidy of National Culture and Arts Foundation.

藝術指導：許家維、張碩尹、鄭先喻 | 策展：吉﨑和彥* | 技術指導：時里充*、大脇理智*、伊藤隆之* | 專案管理：趙宜恬 | 研究拍攝協調：岩本史緒、池上貴弘（門司港藝術平台）、趙宜恬

影像導演：許家維 | 攝影導演：森内康博 | 攝影：森内康博、鄭禹晨、時里充*、山岡大地*、大脇理智* | 無人機攝影：白澤哲浩 | 動作捕捉：大脇理智*、時里充*

特別感謝：門司港藝術平台、關門製糖股份有限公司、新門司砕石工業股份有限公司、三宜樓、北九州電影委員會、虎尾糖廠、門司・門司港提供的拍攝協助

本作品得到台灣國家文化藝術基金會的資助。