Redefining the world as we see it

Using his camera and an Oxford English Dictionary, Sheu Jer-yu (許哲瑜) challenges viewers to look objectively at the spaces they inhabit. In a series of 26 photographs on display at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, simulated scenes act more as backdrops in which the photographer detaches himself from the setting so that the audience can become absorbed in it. Being There is a continuation of a series that won Sheu the Taiwan Arts Award last year.

Using a projector, he superimposes the definition onto an object before documenting the scene with his camera. The words themselves blend into the background, almost to the point where they appear as a natural part of the setting. The meanings of the definitions, however, do not always meld so easily with what you see in the picture.

The Market, for example, reads "a gathering for the sale of goods or livestock." The photo, of a closed market, is empty of people, goods, and livestock; no one is gathered and nothing is being sold.

In an article written by the artist he explained the addition of dictionary definitions in his work as a way of allowing them to become "an obvious and visible prejudice that is suspended in space. The photographer and the viewer can then compare this prejudice with the object being photographed in order to give both the photographer and viewer the same basis for viewing the object and, ultimately to ascertain the true essence of the object in the photograph."

Although it's his intention to establish a sense of objectivity for the viewers, a few of the photos have an underlying commentary that is not so easily ignored.

A photograph of two scarcely dressed girls sitting inside a beetle-nut stand has "Stall" written across the top with a definition that references a stand where goods are displayed for sale. The placing of the women behind the glass wall combined with the words makes it difficult to distinguish what is for sale and implies that those in professions such as this are objectified and treated as merchandise.

Considering all the photos taken are of man-made environments with credible dictionary definitions, it's also interesting to wonder how both have evolved over time, and how our own biases (including the photographer's) might produce different reflections on the various images.

Opposing views of modernization might emerge from the contrast of Playground 1 with Playground 2. The former is of an old playground in a park that looks as though it hasn't been used in years, while the latter is a video arcade with a partly filled milk-tea cup sitting near one game. Both use the same definition: "A favorite place for recreation."

While some might view the abandoned playground equipment as the natural result of technology and available entertainment, others might see the preference for video games as a loss of human interaction and regression of human civilization.