This work is based on a mid-19th century narrative history written in a notebook by a young Japanese ethnographer named TAKAHASHI Hiroki. The notebook presents fragmented stories as well as reports of various activities and cultural practices in Alishan from local and foreign perspectives. For this exhibition, prototype of a device to record messages from the giant trees of Ali Mountain is re-produced from a design found in the notebook. Furthermore, some of the recorded messages mentioned in the notebook are superimposed on contemporary images of the landscape to create a bridge between pre-modern Alishan and the present day.

This work is presented in collaboration with Umair KHAN, a writer and independent researcher currently based in Taipei.

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