LIU Chen-hsiangIn Between the Moments: Cloud Gate in a Photographer’s Memory (Postponed)
LIU Chen-hsiang
In Between the Moments: Cloud Gate in a Photographer’s Memory (Postponed)
A winner of the prestigious Wu San Lien Award for Photography, LIU Chen-hsiang has been working closely with Cloud Gate for more than 30 years. Not only has he captured images of Cloud Gate dancers on and off the stage, but has also documented the company at its historical turning points. LIU's photography exudes beauty and originality of its own, offering a close look at Cloud Gate behind scenes.
In his fifties, LIU Chen-hsiang is considered one of the most outstanding photographers in Taiwan. When he received Wu San-Lien Arts Award in Photography from the Wu San-Lien Awards Foundation in 2010, the judges praised his works as “witnessing the changes and vitality in the Taiwanese society and culture through time, and successfully capturing the fleeting movements of dancers.”
LIU started photography fairly early. At age 20, he already held his first solo exhibition. The camera is his weapon, and also his medium to express his tender love for the world.
During the 80s, LIU was a photojournalist on the street covering protests and unrest. He not only documented the painful democratization process in Taiwan before the lift of martial law, but also captured embodiments of humanity at various scenes of conflict in his own style: shouts, solitude, anger, and agitation. The push and pull between personal emotions and the backdrop violent disturbances create amazing tension, almost transforming his works into surrealist paintings.
LIU began to take film stills for movies in 1986, including ones directed by HOU Hsiao-Hsien, a leading auteur in Taiwan. A year later, he began to photograph works of performing arts. Moments on stage are full of ephemeral moves, and are intrinsically fleeting and transient. Although LIU often does not have a chance to view the works before shooting, and thus has to rely largely on spontaneous responses, his exquisite perceptiveness always enables him to successfully capture the spirit of the performers and the frame at which an action is at its fullest. The moment he clicks the shutter button, a perfect composition is created, in which his emotions flows smoothly and in his own unique way.
LIU has been working closely with the Cloud Gate for over thirty years, and has documented for the company not only the splendid glamour on stage, but also the day-to-day routines of the dancers during rehearsals and beyond. These images stand alone with their own poses, in a style that is so intense that one could not help but pause and ponder, reluctant to leave.
