Since Ujaku Ryozo's 1897 research, Orchid Island and its Tao community surfaced in the nation's modern narrative. Over the past century, numerous individuals visited, including generations of photographers who captured the island's essence. Their documentation provides varied perspectives and images, forming our initial impressions of Orchid Island.
The video utilizes a camera viewfinder style, allowing audiences to witness historical images of Orchid Island through the eyes of different generations of photographers. Through the lens of the camera, the lives of the Tao people on Orchid Island have been recorded, as well as the subtle relationship between this island of isolation and the so-called "outsiders/others/onlookers."
This video showcases Dalianpu's encirclement by factories, evoking immediacy and impact. Spectators experience the life of residents surrounded by factories and pollution upon entering the exhibition space.
Scenes transition, revealing pollution in coastal and industrial areas - from serene fishing villages to seawater contamination, industrial noises, chimneys, and accidents. The conclusion highlights anti-air pollution movements, emphasizing that indifference towards these events can worsen issues, potentially affecting everyone in other island incidents.
The video unfolds chronologically, presenting decades of disputed rulings and announcements from the past to the present. For the residents of Daguan community, the rigid official statements seem like a dense fog—difficult to comprehend and detached. The text in the documents will be blurred, with only key words dynamically appearing on the screen, resembling documents delivered to the residents from their perspective.
In response to the Official Stand video, the Residents' Voice film will also predominantly feature text. The visuals will start with drifting poetic text, gradually emerging into the background images. Eventually, these words will form the portraits of the Daguan residents, symbolizing that every verse spoken by the residents represents each family and individual in Daguan.
This film aims to depict a dialogue scene. However, the ongoing controversy in the Daguan community between the government, residents, and the self-help association feels like parallel dimensions, hindering consensus. The video uses split-screen techniques, showing official statements and residents' protests simultaneously. Shifting screen proportions illustrate the struggle, later introducing external voices to showcase the discord amid the dispute.
Isolation, born from panic, reshapes relationships. It separates individuals and their environments, not only prompting the reformation of connections within isolation but also the reconstruction of relationships afterward. From religious practices to medical isolation, from imprisonment to home confinement, and from masks to social distancing, the evolution of isolation methods significantly alters human interactions. These changes may even result in permanent shifts in how people relate to one another.
