A local photographer is dedicating his first solo exhibition to the hundreds of people injured in a deadly dust explosion and ensuing fire at a New Taipei City water park last year, through which he hopes the public will empathize with the burn victims, who are still facing a long road to recovery.
The three-day exhibition began yesterday at the Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei, three days before the anniversary of the explosion.
Photographer Lee Tien-he (李天賀) said in a recent interview that he chose to hold the event at this time to urge the public to stop criticizing the injured partygoers and instead show empathy and respect for them.
Photo: Screen grab from Facebook by CNA
The exhibition features photographs of 24 people injured in the blast at the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) water park in New Taipei City’s Bali District (八里) on June 27 last year, when colored cornstarch powder used for effects burst into flames, engulfing partygoers in fire.
A total of 508 people were injured and 15 killed in the incident.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 281 of the victims suffered burns that covered more than 40 percent of their bodies, including 41 people with burns to more than 80 percent of their bodies.
Since the incident, there has been criticism that the injured deserved it, because they “loved partying too much,” Lee said.
“However, I think we have to let go of the biased opinions and stop all the criticism,” he said, adding that that is the message he wants to get across through the exhibition.
“What they [the burn victims] need is empathy and respect,” the 31-year-old photographer said.
It is not unusual for young adults to go out partying, he said.
Through the exhibition, Lee also hopes to help the public gain a better understanding of the hardships the victims face on the road to recovery.
The idea of the project started with a discussion with one of his friends, a victim of the explosion who suffered burns to 93 percent of his body, Lee said.
The photographer said he later met a woman who was injured in the same incident and who helped to ask other burn victims if they were willing to take part in the project.
Twenty-four victims agreed to participate.
Some of them have burns covering large areas of their bodies, while others suffered relatively minor burns, he said.
Lee said that it was not easy to help them face their own injuries during the shoot, but he tried not to treat them differently.
With the exception of medical personnel, Lee said he was told that he was the only person in Taiwan who has seen the scars of so many burn victims.
“But I don’t see them as scars. I think they are just a part of the burn victims,” said Lee, who has a passion for portrait photography.
Due to the burns on their bodies, they could not stand or sit for very long, he said.
“So I had to be quick to capture the moment and take the best picture,” he added.
The photographs to be displayed at the exhibition are to showcase different personalities of the “models.”
Some are outgoing, some quiet and some solemn, Lee said.
Although it is Lee’s first solo exhibition, he hopes the public will pay greater attention to the exhibition itself, rather than him.
As the first anniversary of the incident is approaching, “I hope the public will pay attention to the issue,” he said.
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