Voices of Photography no.11 - Image Archives

Photography is seen as a kind of evidence, which archives our history visually, and which possesses an ability to narrate. We collect pieces of our world and construct them into archival systems, competing for the narrative power and thus “over-interpret” the world. Image archives thus became one of the favourite sources of data for artists, who collect, collate, collage, construct and deconstruct the library of images available to bring in new meanings, as well as to challenge the authority of official archival records by rebuilding the current nature and system of archiving.

In this issue of VOP, Chou Ching-Hui presents his compilation of the photographs that came with his tickets for traffic violations, giving us snapshots of the confinements within a city;  Yao Jui-Chung leads the group “Lost Society Document” in launching a project to photograph disused public property, deconstructing the underlying factors hidden by bureaucracy using unofficial picture archives; Sipke Visser mailed out 500 of his photography works to random addresses in UK, constructing his own private archive of personal commentaries to his pictures in two-and-a-half years; Thomas Suavin collects tons of discarded films from recycling areas in Beijing, digitises them and tries to piece together an alternate contemporary China reflected in these ordinary photographs.

In the Artists Showcase, we interviewed visual artist Antoine d’Agata, whose works infuse naked desires with photography. Q column features Chiu I-Chien, who has always been, and finally succeeded in pushing for the establishment of a BA course in photography. We also talked to Li Hsu-Pin, founder of Fotoaura Institute of Photography, on his experiences in managing an art space. In addition, VOP took part in the 6th Photobook Festival in Kassel, Germany, where we interviewed the first curator of photography and international art at Tate Modern in London, Simon Baker, who shared with us his life as a curator and his observations about photography traits and trends of different countries. The SHOUT in this issue features archived images of early Taiwanese laboratories from Taiwan National Repository of Cultural Heritage between 1954 to 1970.

We would like to thank Mr Kuo Li-Hsin, who has kindly agreed to pen the column “More Writings on Photography” since our inaugural issue right through the tenth. As a photography critic who has an in-depth understanding of photography, history and social trends, Mr Kuo’s sharp analysis has always been a great influence on the photography scene in Taiwan and a most important voice in the Voices of Photography. For readers who have missed the previous issues of VOP, his column has been compiled and published under the same name in 2013. Taking over his role, Mr Chang Shih-Lun will share with us “On Images” in the new year ahead. Mr Chang is an experienced and knowledgable visual art critic, who will show us the world through the photographers’ lenses.