Research on young artist groups in Taiwan VI
Artists: Shen Ting-Hua、Chou Tai-Chun、Lin Yan-Xiang、Huang Shun-Ting、Liao Chao-Hao
藝術家：沈庭華、周代焌、林彥翔、黃舜廷、廖昭豪
The art group "TOPO EARTH LAB" conducted a project in the Jhuoshuei River basin last year, focusing on flood legends in the area. The flooding scenarios, occurring before modern hydraulic facilities intervened forcefully, represented natural disasters capable of submerging entire villages. Simultaneously, they fostered the development of the largest agricultural planting area in central and southern Taiwan. The transformative history of the Jhuoshuei River community can be traced through temple inscriptions and oral stories surrounding various flood events in the basin.
Moreover, along the Jhuoshuei River's banks, numerous water-related "厭勝物" can be found, such as 石敢當, stone towers, and Amitabha Buddha stone inscriptions. We construct an alternative portrayal of the Jhuoshuei River basin not documented in official history by narrating floods, miracles, drifting divine images, luminous sacred objects, and 厭勝物. We present an alternative depiction of the Zhuoshui River Basin that is absent from official historical records.
展覽《~洪~水~再~氾~濫~》延續土人探島去年在濁水溪流域叙事的田野研究，關注濁水溪一帶的洪水傳說。洪水汜濫在現代化的水利設施強勢介入以前，是能夠造成一個村落覆沒的自然災害。這些大小不一的洪水傳說，造成了濁水溪河道不斷遷徙，而大洪水沖積出的土壤，滋養出台灣中南部最大的農業種植區。濁水溪群體的遷移史，可以在流域周遭的廟宇碑文及口傳故事中隨附著各種洪水事蹟被看見。
除此之外，流域沿岸可以發現許多鎮水的「厭勝物」，如石敢當、石塔、阿彌陀佛石碑等。我們從這些碑文中叙述的洪水、神蹟、漂流神像、發光神物到厭勝物，拼凑出一幅不被正史記載的濁水溪流域圖像，在這些空缺的歷史及時空中，再想像關於洪水氾濫的歷史情境。
TOPO EARTH LAB is an artistic collective devoted to exploring the inseparable relationship between knowledge and the land. Through their creative initiatives, notably the "island exploration," they aim to establish localized knowledge by consciously focusing on the interaction between land and people.
土人探島藝術團隊由幾位藝術家組成，成員們相信知識與敘事不可能脫離土地而生。團隊在創作的過程中，除了對於田野的研究之外，同時在探問土地與人類能夠如何建立關係。而這份建立創作方法論的同時，也是在往時間軸的末來前去的當下。從有意識地避免去脈絡化的知識生產，到藉由「探島」行動對地及人文的關注，藉由藝術方法建立地方知識論。
