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The Necessity of Occasional Boredom: A Residency Research in Hsinchu City
無聊 但是必要 — 新竹駐村觀察

「無聊但是必要」是我從二十歲起就經常在思考的事情。當時自然是覺得大學的課程無聊比有趣來得多,偏偏無聊的通常都是最重要的必修課。一個前輩告訴我,要做自己喜歡的事,就必須連不喜歡的部分一併接受,不然就不會長大,聽來很有道理,於是我便一直如此堅信著。後來我發現,沒有經歷無聊的部分,就不會感受到有趣帶來的喜悅,如同一體的陰陽;所以無聊不僅僅是需要承受的東西,也是必要的映襯。直到最近,當我更仔細觀察甚至直接面對那些看似無聊的事物,我發現它們其實一點都不無聊,所謂「無聊」,不過是自己的一面之詞罷了。

從新竹車站到鐵道藝術村,一路上會見到許多支持這個城市或交通系統運作的服務空間,像是停車場、台鐵宿舍、各種維修調度設備等。這些東西完全機能取向,不以娛樂性為目的,人們使用時往往也不會多做停留,但他們確實不可或缺。城市中或生活中充滿了這樣典型「無聊但是必要」的存在,無論它們是有形的硬體還是無形的規律/規範,對現在的我來說,它們恰是探索一個城市時最有趣的發現。

​The necessity of occasional boredom is something I have been thinking about since my early twenties. By the time, the courses in university not often interested me. Unfortunately, the most boring courses usually seemed to be the most important ones. A friend once told me that engaging in something means one has to embrace every part of it, including the unattractive things. That is how a person grow. Well, sounds pretty reasonable, so I believed in it for a long time. However, I found that boredom is not just something to be endured, but a necessary mirror reflecting the compelling parts, much like Ying and Yang. The joy of “feeling interested” won’t exist if the boring part had not been experienced. Sounds even more reasonable, until recently when I started to observe, or to face, the "boring stuffs" more deeply and directly. I suddenly realised they are not boring at all. The so-called “boring” is merely my arbitrary opinion.

 

There are many service space/facilities standing on the route between Hsinchu train station and Art Site of Railway Warehouse, such as parking lot, railway staff accommodation, and varies of maintenance equipments. They are all about function; people usually stay there only when they need to. However, they are indeed indispensable. These things, typically being described as “boring but necessary,” is ubiquitous in urban life. No matter as observable hardware or intangible routine, they happen to be the most interesting discoveries while exploring a new city for me.

呼吸

進食

移動

居住

找地方放空

遵從規則

耐心等候

breath

eat

move

dwell

find a place to clear out one’s mind

follow the rules

wait with patience

Exhibition Documentation
展覽記錄

道上之言 Words on the Street

木刻版印刷︑胚布  Woodcut Printing on Fabric

何處不惹塵埃 A Place Without Dust

行為紀錄影像︑裝置  Performance Documentation, Installation

等待火車(到達︑駛離︑停下︑經過) Waiting for Train (to arrive, to leave, to stop, to pass)

空間/聲音裝置  Space/Sound Installation

田美的一天 A Typical Day at Tianmei

併用版(木刻+單刷)︑日本版畫紙  Woodcut Printing and Monoprint on Japanese Printmaking Paper

*Full documentation of this work will be published in short future when I have time to scan the prints...

One Year at Art Site of Railway Warehouse Hsinchu City
在新竹市鐵道藝術村的一年

新竹車站是一個保存良好的日式洋風建築,站體的規模讓人意想不到走進去後眼前會出現超多條鐵軌。過去作為陸地運輸的集散地,不難看出繁忙調度的痕跡,新竹市鐵道藝術村就是在日本時期興建的鐵道倉庫,緊鄰著從車站月台分支出去的鐵軌,長長的連棟建築體邊緣有一道可以直接供列車上下貨的平台,當時貨物塞滿倉庫的樣子想必非常壯觀。

儘管目前我經歷過的所有駐村都是在城市中,鐵道藝術村的空間卻最有意思,它不屬於鬧區或住宅區,而是位在沿著鐵路所生成的城市夾縫中,被「服務空間」所包圍。走到新竹後站,經過台鐵宿舍、停車場、再穿過兩個陸橋的下方後,就會在盡頭見到鐵道藝術村的身影。有些靜僻,但別有洞天。

如今鐵道藝術村有著大小兩個展覽空間、多功能教室以及五間藝術家工作室,2023年初,我在其中一間工作室開始了一年的長期進駐。在工作室隨時能從窗口望著(也聽著)來來去去的火車,常常一個下午就在這樣的意識流動中過去;而充斥在工作空間中那些飄揚的塵土、列車的呼嘯氣流與無孔不入的小生物(以及他們短暫生活史結束後留下的身體),都成為看待世界的養分跟啟發。

由於藝術村是禁止居住與使用明火的歷史建物,因此駐村藝術家若非在地人,就要選擇在當地租房或者通勤。頭四個月我選擇了通勤,在不斷的移動中進行觀察,然而最終我決定搬到新竹,於是開始我在田美三街像是真正的新竹人般的生活,這也是其中一件作品名稱「田美的一天」的由來。駐村期間,時間流逝的速度總是快到令人不知所措,而我的思緒形成總是如此緩慢,但我始終無法戒掉這種在變動的環境中投注心力調適自我的過程,這過程本身,或許比作品的展出更加能夠體現「創作」這件事。

​The architecture of Hsinchu train station is a well-maintained building from Japanese period, the scale of it is not particularly large, thus can somehow make one feel surprised to see so many rails after stepping on to the platform. As once an important hub of land transportation, the trace of its past glory is quite obvious. Art Site of Railway Warehouse Hsinchu City was a cargo warehouse built by Japanese colonial government, sitting closely to one branching rail, equipped with a cargo loading platform between the warehouse and railway. The view must have been spectacular when the warehouse was once filled with goods.

This warehouse is by far the most interesting place I have been doing residency at, in terms of urban planning. It is located along the narrow gap between different zones; therefore, it does not belong to any of them. Instead, it is surrounded by all kinds of service spaces such as railway company dormitory, luggage storages, parking facilities, and two land bridges. After walking pass all of them, you will see the art site standing at the end of road. It is a bit isolated but peaceful.

 

Now there are two exhibition spaces in different size, one multifunction room, and five artist studios in the art site. I had stayed in one of the studios for one year during 2023. Sitting in the studio, I often looked at (also listened to) trains comes and goes through my huge window, and just let my mind follow the stream of consciousness for a whole afternoon. The dusts filling in my workspace, air blowed by moving trains, and all the small living things inhabiting (and their bodies after the end of a brief life history) came into my nourishment of seeing this world.

As the art site is a historical building, it is prohibited for accommodation or open flame usage. Therefore, residency artists will have to rent a room or commute from another city if they are not based in Hsinchu. I chose to commute for the first four months and had my observation while moving. In the end I decided to move to Hsinchu for it was too exhausting. That was how I started my living in Tianmei Third Street, which led to my work “A Typical Day at Tianmei.” In every one of my residencies, time always pass like running river. It can be overwhelming for my thoughts usually form with the speed of fossilization. But for some reason, I could not seem to give up this exhilarating process of throwing myself into a constantly altering environment. This seemingly waste of great amount of time and effort, is probably the point of my whole practice more than creating actual works.

Related Links 相關連結

Art Site of Railway Warehouse Hsinchu City 新竹市鐵道藝術村

which runs by Accton Arts Foundation 智邦藝術基金會

Interview of Hsin Shyu's residency (Only in Mandarin) 駐村專訪

Special Thanks to 

藝術村總監育萱以及工作人員們、金金、駐村藝術家鄰居們(族繁不及備載)、

以及所有跑來新竹找我或幫我的朋友們

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