Exhibition »Oysterpunk« - Result of my three month residency in Tsung Yeh Arts and Cultural Center in 2024

Tainan is famous for its many oyster farms, and the shells are a byproduct of this industry. Historically, those shells were used to produce oyster cement (蚵灰) which mixed with water - and sometimes other local ingredients, such as sticky rice and sugar - was used in the construction of many historic buildings such as the Anping Old Fort. It’s use ceased during the 1970s and was slowly replaced by other alternatives. The exhibition »Oysterpunk« is creating a retrofuturistic reality where this building material is still in wide use and in fact at the center of the esthetic ideals of society. Combined with electronic circuits and other materials, it is used to construct artifacts of this strange future that didn’t happen (just yet).  The use of traditional materials, that are special to the Tainan area, mixed with globalized industrial components, let’s the audience enter a world that is both familiar and strange, and reminds us that seemingly traditional, outdated technologies can also have their special place in today's world, and progress is not a one way street.

The exhibition is still on until September 15 in Tsung Yeh Arts and Cultural Center
Adress: Tainan City, Madou Disctrict, No. 5 (Red Brick Office C Room)
Opening Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 9:00 to 17:00

The photos are either mine or by the Tsung Yeh Arts and Cultural Center.

At this point also a big thank you to the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Tainan City Government as well as all the people involved in Tsung Yeh Arts and Cultural Center for their great support during my residency.