With the first anniversary of the 921 earthquake fast approaching, Puli (
"Photographers recorded this event with their cameras; writers with their pens; poets with their poems. I am a painter, so I painted," Sun said.
Sun says that he finished his post-quake drawings in tears. "As I was drawing, people told me stories about people who died and buildings that collapsed during the quake," Sun recalled.
A four-minute documentary video was played at the press conference yesterday at which Sun announced the publication of his collection. In the film, a four-year-old resident of Puli is shown singing a song, written by himself, in a childish and plaintive tone, "My house fell down. Others also fell down. My cup got broken. The quilt got dirty. The earthquake brought the houses down. Why? Why? Why?"
Sun's collection, which includes around 100 of his pencil drawings, reflects the scenes depicted in the lyrics of the child's song. It includes scenes of the ruins left by the quake in Puli, of troops involved in rescue work, the setting up of prefabricated houses as temporary shelters, as well as various people, like local and foreign volunteer aid workers. All the drawings are arranged with captions to explain the stories that prompted them.
Just one month before the 921 quake, Sun had published another pencil drawing collection about Puli. "Now when I compare these two collections, I am moved to tears," Sun said.
Sun moved from Taipei to Puli in 1991 because of the natural beauty of this mountain town. His work is the first published collection of drawings in book form on the 921 earthquake.
"It was a historic event, and I wish to commemorate it in the way I know best," he said.
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