For graffiti artists Ano and Bounce, there are two major challenges involved in producing graffiti in Taipei: finding the right location and avoiding detection long enough to finish the job.
A highly visible spot, such as a wall next to an MRT station, is a perfect location for street art. But in such a busy place, it is hard to spend several hours working on a piece without attracting the attention of the police.
"We like to express ourselves and communicate through graffiti, but the city punishes us for presenting our works in an unconventional location and manner," Ano, who has been a graffiti artist for six years and whose works can be found on many street corners in Taipei, told the Taipei Times.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TAIPEI CITY'S CULTURAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
As a relatively young art form in Taiwan, graffiti is often dismissed as vandalism. Although the Taipei City Government softened its stance somewhat in 2005, when it made three of the retaining walls at Dachia Ying Feng Riverside available to graffiti artists, most artists still work in out-of-the-way places to avoid the police.
Things took a turn for the worse last year, when the city's Department of Environmental Protection established an around-the-clock hotline and cash rewards for those who report graffiti.
Graffiti artists face fines of between NT$1,200 and NT$6,000 for violating Article 27 of the Waste Disposal Act (
This lack of freedom frustrates Bounce and Ano, who declined to give their real names.
"We are not bad kids and we take graffiti as an art form very seriously. We don't write four-letter words or paint horrible images," Bounce said.
The duo try to avoid stereotypical "dirty," gloomy or creepy grafitti in favor of "cute" pieces with bright, warm colors and positive messages.
Bounce centers his pieces around a blind rabbit that loves music -- the character from which he takes his nickname.
Ano, meanwhile, creates graffiti mosaics.
"We do graffiti to make the city more beautiful and lively," Bounce said.
In a rare gesture of reconciliation, the city's Department of Cultural Affairs announced on Saturday that the fences around major public construction sites would be made available to graffiti artists.
"We will promote graffiti starting with the public sector, and then later in the private sector too. It's our goal to beautify the city with graffiti," department head Lee Yong-ping (
The department said it was also cooperating with the city's Water Conservancy Agency to open more of the walls at municipal riverside parks to graffiti artists, while working with the Taiwan Youth Rights and Welfare Advocacy Alliance to hold graffiti contests and festivals to promote the street art.
Bounce and Ano welcomed the news, but urged the city government to provide more locations closer to downtown and with convenient transportation.
"The spaces at riverside parks are so remote that I don't even know where those walls are," Ano said.
"People think graffiti artists like to paint on dark and abandoned walls or buildings, but the truth is we are afraid of those places. We'd love to do our art in a bright and safe environment," he said.
Having spent years sneaking around the city in search of the perfect canvas, Bounce and Ano hope that they will soon be able to share their creativity more openly.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS