A second exhibition, downstairs, features the artist Wu A-sheng (吳阿生). Rather than large prints (as above) these are small, gritty, black-and-white photographs. Most have been taken outside Taipei, in Changhua or Keelung for instance, and offer a glimpse of life beyond the pale of the big city: fisherman, temple leaders on a march, farmers planting rice, two blind beggars walking through a night market.
At their best, Wu's pictures are raw and powerful. In one, a topless gang leader with long hair is flanked by his gang. They look confidently into the camera, like film stars posing for a poster. But Under the Clouds (雲彩之下) is hit and miss. An example of the latter is a dirty work-glove, lying discarded on the ground. So what? Others capture the moment or an expression but are blurred and the picture quality is poor. Even so, they have a blunt honesty that provides a counterpoint to the sophisticated and artistic approach of Suan.
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