Architecture was first conceived from the need for sanctuary. Humanity, like all other species on earth, seeks protection through structures against crises, whether from natural disaster, disease, or threat. When fear converges with the impulse to heal, architecture becomes a site where chaos and disorder manifest amid the yearning for order and peace. In this tension resides the essence of life.
It is unfortunate that modern urban architecture often fails to respond to humanity’s contemplation of fear and healing. Instead, it gradually succumbs to the decline of the times, echoing Georges Bataille’s words: “the expansion of the self, the ultimate void, the scorn of the others, the thunderous shout, the gaze into the past ill-fated grandeur.” This paradox is precisely what this exhibition aims to explore.
The exhibition unfolds in four parts: Ceremony, The Law of Architecture, Calling, and Satoyama. Sixteen architects and artists present works in sound, video, installation, and structure, aspiring to illuminate the intricate relationship between architecture and life, as well as the interconnectedness of space, philosophy, mythology, environment, and humanity.
Just as humanist geographer Tuan Yi-fu observes in Landscapes of Fear, “In a sense, every human construction, whether mental or material, is a component in a landscape of fear because it exists in constant chaos. Thus, children’s fairy tales as well as adult’s legends, cosmological myths, and indeed philosophical systems are shelters built by the mind in which human beings can rest, at least temporarily, from the siege of inchoate experience and of doubt.”
Architecture, therefore, stands as a manifestation of cosmic chaos—a sanctuary for the human mind, a habitat for sentient beings, an existence that is everlasting, cocooned in a constant state of change. Even as fear engulfs the mind, a pulse of healing persists. Born from fear and the longing for restoration, architecture embodies care for the fears and well-being of others.
建築的恐懼與療癒
The Architecture of Fear and Cure
｜Curator｜ROAN Ching-yueh
｜Artists｜YIN Zi-jie, Boonserm PREMTHADA, WU Tseng-jung, WU Yao-tung, MATSUDA Kazuhisa, HUNG Hao-chun, HSU Ting, FU Chang-feng, Divooe ZEIN, FCHY Architect Lab, LIAO Wei-li, Yannick DAUBY, CHEN Donghua, Kay Ngee Tan Architects, LAI Po-wei, KU Shih-yung
｜Supervisor｜Ministry of Culture, New Taipei City Government
｜Organizer｜New Taipei City Art Museum