Description
Adopting a documentary style, Taxi by Chia-En Jao, commissioned by the Guggenheim, presents conversations between the artist and taxi drivers while en route to places that have historically been contested in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. The destinations include: the Presidential Palace, the Grand Hotel, originally the Taiwan Grand Shrine, the highest-ranking Shinto Sanctuary during Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945), and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, a monument to the former military and political leader, which later became a place for mass assemblies. Recorded from the back passenger seat, these discussions meander through memories of Taiwan’s decades-long martial law, which followed the Japanese Occupation, the Cold War, and present-day conflicts like Brexit and tensions with Continental China. Rather than imposing its own agenda or trying to solve contrasting points of view about the history of Taiwan, Chiao-En Jao’s collection of alternative stories makes it possible to express individual experiences, and challenge pre conceived ideas in the telling of the story.