SOUTH CORNER, Taiwan, 2015-2018

South Corner is a Square Root Collective community art project based in Fongshan Huangpu Veterans Quarter (鳳山黃埔新村) in Kaohsiung city. Fongshan Huangpu Veterans Quarter is one of the few remaining military dependents’ villages built in Taiwan during Japanese rule. An Act for Rebuilding Old Quarters for Military Dependents was enacted in 1996 to progressively tear down these villages and relocate original residents. Fongshan Huangpu Veterans Quarter was set to be torn down in 2013. Original residents, some of whom had been living in the village for 60 years, vacated their homes under the request of the Ministry of Defense. This resulted in rapid degradation of the empty houses and cases of looting. 

In an effort to preserve the historic site and prevent houses from further degradation, the Kaohsiung Cultural Bureau intervened and registered Fongshan Huangpu Veterans Quarter as a cultural landscape and repurposed parts of the village for cultural use. In 2015, they invited the public to submit proposals to reside and act as custodians of the houses for a period of 3 years. Members of Square Root Collective were amongst the first group of applicants selected for the 3-year residency. The house we lived and worked in, no. 68 of West 6th Lane, is situated in the southern corner of the village, hence the name of our community art project - South Corner.

Creative Image Workshop was conducted in a neighborhood elementary school to introduce basic still photography techniques, and facilitate students to observe their school environment with renewed perspectives. Students picked their favorite places in the school and were encouraged to experiment and expand their imagination beyond what they see. Through photography, the workshop aims to cultivate new ways of looking at a subject or subject matter.

Students present their photos in a gallery walk, and share their creative processes with the rest of the class. We hope to cultivate children’s interests in art appreciation and build their self-confidence as they communicate their ideas.

Body Awareness Workshop is designed to promote awareness of the body so that our participants can have a better understanding of ways to maintain proper posture. Through strengthening the core muscles and observing posture alignment, the workshop aims to help people reduce risks of injury in their daily activities.

At the end of our residency, Square Root Collective members participated in a series of events titled Tide Pool (潮池流轉). Tide Pool is a ground-up effort by several artists residing in Fongshan Huangpu Veterans Quarter. Talks and tours were organized for the public to learn and discuss environmental and cultural preservation issues that we have observed during our residency in the village. Artists also presented their works in an exhibition, surrounding the theme of “Home.” Members of Square Root Collective collaborated with filmmaker and performance artist, Seema Kapur, for a video installation titled Forwarding Address.