Between Faces, Stories and Power
(TC) 在面孔、故事與權力之間

220×300 mm, 100 pages, Edition of 20
First Published in April 2023
Printed in Germany

Artist’s Book, Artistic Research

This piece assembles images captured during the artists’ visits to the three Palace Museums (Beijing, Taipei and Hong Kong) with archival images from the National Palace Museum (Taipei), exploring concepts of centralization and decentralization.
The three Palace Museums shared the same origin as part of the Chinese imperial collection in the Forbidden City. Throughout history, China has been a highly centralized place. This centralization is evident not only in political structures, but also in the accumulation of material archives. The imperial palace, was once the epicenter of this centralized power, where artifacts, documents, and treasures were carefully amassed and preserved.
By examining the power dynamics behind the artifacts’ symbols, it enables us to question whether these artifacts, imbued with symbols of power, continue to haunt us by offering a centralized Chinese history and thus a restricted imagination of cultural identity.
This work adopts a dispersed compilation with intersecting layers of various-sized pages, reimagining the material format of a traditional book. By doing so, the piece presents a ‘decentralized’, non-linear narrative.
This artist's book is a joint creation by Wai Lun Hsu and Lai Ping So, released in 2023 as a collaborative project by the duo. The first edition, limited to 20 copies, is hand-bound by the artists.

Artist    Wai Lun Hsu and Lai Ping So
Concept, Photography & Research    Wai Lun Hsu and Lai Ping So
Printing    PPP Pre Print Partner GmbH & CO. KG, Köln
Binding & Production    mmmmor studio
Publisher    mmmmor studio, Düsseldorf

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1.The Rise of Modern China (2018) 2. National Sonic Territory 3. Designnonnatively–Design in a Language you Cannot Speak