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Juror's Statement

HUANG Chia-Sen

類 攝 影
This year's Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition received 335 entries in the Photography category, including three from China, one from Hong Kong, one
from Japan, and one from the Philippines. After the preliminary evaluation, 32 entries were short-listed, but one was returned. The jury reviewed the 29
short-listed entries in the final evaluation, selecting winners of the top three prizes, four Award of Merit winners, and 22 selected works.
Most of the entries this year present photo collections, and they depict a diverse range of themes, including environmental protection, flooding
information on the Internet, outbreak of virus, street sceneries, folk religion, impression of war, association of sodium chloride and the Olympic, light and
shadow, and story and metaphor. Technically, the entries also feature digital processing, aerial photography, and sharp observation.
First Prize went to "Migration." Photographer CHAN Wen-Fu weaves aerial pictures of the ancient tomb on Tangchi Mountain in Anping into a large
sea turtle to symbolize the final destination of ancestor. In Taiwan, turtles are regarded as an auspicious animal. In Chinese, "turtle" sounds like "return;"
in Taiwanese, it sounds like "long time," symbolizing the return of wealth and health. This picture of a tomb and site of traditional Taiwanese folk religion
reveals people's respect and reverence for "return."
Second Prize went to "That Block of Farmland." According to the photographer: "That block of farmland is no longer growing crops; that block of Photography
farmland is no longer farming fish or shrimp; that block of farmland is branded onto the land; that block of farmland is a bandage on the environment."
New technology in response to the government's solar PV policy fulfills people's demand of power, but attractive business opportunity results in
destruction of the land. Environmental protection and people's needs are engaged in a constant tug-of-war.
Third Prize winner is "Run Way," in which the photographer makes sharp observation to capture the hidden things on billboards in the streets;
through ingenious composition, the photographer displays own running style and the feeling of the rhythm of liberation. Give ourselves the freedom to
choose own lifestyle, and embrace the multiple roles in life we play in particular circumstances, so that our time and space can return to the wonderful
time of purity and innocence.
"Century Plague Fight" is another Award of Merit winner. The global outbreak of the novel coronavirus has impacted our way of life and claimed
more lives than any war in history. The photographer hopes to keep a record of it as a reference for our future generations to also witness the beauty and
sorrow of Taiwan's war of the century against this plague.
Another Award of Merit went to "Heaven's Lost Treasure." With mountains of colorful recycled materials, the photographer turns garbage into gold
through aesthetic partial compositions, responding to XU Zhi-Mo's statement in "The West Lake Diary" that "large quantities are beauty."
In Award of Merit winning "Phenomena, No Phenomena, That's True Phenomena," the photographer presents a metaphor to today's advanced
Internet and diverse social media, which generate all kinds of information that are hard to determine whether they are true or false. In the past, artisans
created beautiful statues that hold well against timenIt is just like the appearance we see. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, just like the Diamond
Sutra: "To see that appearances are not appearances is to see the Tathagata."
Final Award of Merit went to "The Beauty and Sadness of Abandoned Salt Fields." The long-abandoned salt field, in response to the future demand
for renewable energy, such as solar energy, becomes the top choice for the site of solar power plant. With solar power plants emerging, the stunning
scenes of the abandoned salt field will likely disappear under the shadows of solar panels.