Project: The Folly

Since 2018, C-LAB has not only run the space of the former Air Force Command Headquarters with cultural projects in unprecedented forms, but also endeavored to transform the site into an artistic incubator that treats innovative cultural experimentation as its core value. Over the past three years, the C-LAB launched several Experimental Architecture projects that ventured into the essence of this site from different contextual perspectives. For example, Collective Negative Space Village concentrated on the relational evolution of the site, whilst Brick Circle applied the concept of sustainable city to practical situations. Unfolding from Taipei City where C-LAB is located, the exhibition Project: The Folly follows the previous reflection on the change of the site to investigate its connotations and implications by reference to its inherent ambiguity.

In the architectural field, the term “folly” initially meant buildings constructed for decoration instead of practical purpose, which comes from the French word “folie.” In the 1980s, architects in Europe and North America brought renewed attention and discussed the meaning of this type of building. “Folly” thus became considered a structure not existing for a specific object, which is neither completely a building nor a sculpture. To date, it means not only an architectural entity, but also a form with the connotation of openness for interpretation.

Based on the context and definition of the term, Project: The Folly experiments with a reversed viewing angle on the exhibition venue (i.e., the US Aid Building) in the spatial layout of C-LAB. Given that the location and space of the exhibition venue are radically different from those of ordinary art museums, some of the works in the exhibition set great store by meaningful dialogues with the site. This site harbors not only the heterogeneity of the exhibition space per se, but also the contextual evolution of this location’s history, architecture, transportation, and economy. Among all the participating artists, Chen Wan-Jen, Tai Han-Hong, Chiu Chen-Hung, and Liao Chien-Chung utilize the exhibition venue’s environment and the in-situ conditions to develop new perspectives that allow us to rediscover the U.S. Aid Building and C-LAB.

In addition, through all the works, the exhibition attempts to explore the meaning of “place,” especially to reacquaint us with the existing urban system and the rich texture of related spaces. With their respective works equally fascinating in result though different in approach, Wu Tsan-Cheng, Ling Tien, Chen Shiau-Peng, Tsong Pu, Hsiao Yu-Chih, and Thai artist Arnont Nongyao probe into the relations between individuals and the city as well as the texture of public spaces. They represent the traces of dwelling, and address the question as to how architectural plans/structures can act as the catalysts for revitalizing interpersonal relationships of a group.

To sum up, Project: The Folly gains fresh perspectives on our contemporary life through the intervention of architectural/artistic projects, relational reversal, and non-consecutive changes in viewpoint. In addition to exploring the nature of spaces, the exhibition invokes the metaphor of structures to alter the human-space relation, with the aim of blazing a trail beyond benefit-oriented utilitarianism and urban-planning concepts. Can we comprehend the real-world situation here and now from a brand-new perspective if we forsake pragmatism for artistic or creative view in the post-pandemic era?

Curator: Chuang Wei-Tzu

Artists: Arnont Nongyao, Wu Tsan-Cheng, Ling Tien, Chiu Chen-Hung, Tsong Pu, Chen Shiau-Peng, Chen Wan-Jen, Liao Chien-Chung, Hsiao Yu-Chih, Tai Han-Hong

Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the preventive measures will be adjusted and announced at any time. Please see the official website and Facebook fan page of C-LAB for changes of activities. Thanks for your cooperation.