Yuan meanwhile has used digital photography to compose day and night scenes of Taipei's most bustling spot, Hsimenting. And he's removed all the people. He did so by combining 15 to 20 main photos of each scene with a huge number of detail shots, and the effect is eerie. Hsimenting -- a ghost town.
For Zwakman, all these portrayals of empty spaces are about "the presence of absence." What's not present in these assembly halls, public squares, movie sets and other stages -- their actors, their histories, etc. -- is extremely important to understanding what those places are. Because according to deconstruction, an empty stage is just an empty stage. But that stage will come to life when filled with images.
For Mari and Wang, that's how the Great Stage of the World operates. Though it's not the only statement of the biennial and it does not involve all of the 31 artists, it's an example of how they faithfully present certain philosophical programs at the exhibition -- programs that will be appreciated by some critics, but not all viewers.
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