The Castle, 2026
- Jan 1
- 2 min read
<The Castle> is a single-channel video work that combines the image of a building resembling a European castle standing alone in a forest in a small Taiwanese city (Luodong Township, Yilan County), the MIDI version of Beethoven’s Für Elise played by a passing garbage truck, and a short fairy-tale narrative. The surreal colors of the images evoke a landscape from a strange world where time feels uncertain. Yet the building is neither in a forest nor actually a European castle. It is, in fact, an apartment building constructed in the mid-1990s. In Korea during the 1990s, architectural designs that made love motels and kindergartens resemble European castles became popular. Additionally, the MIDI version of Beethoven’s Für Elise has occasionally been used as a reversing alarm for trucks.
This kind of scene is tied not only to trends in architectural style but also to a broader historical context. Korea and Taiwan share strikingly similar historical experiences, including 35 years of Japanese occupation in Korea and 50 years in Taiwan, as well as national division. Additionally, 1987 marked a turning point in both countries: in South Korea, it brought an end to military dictatorship, while in Taiwan, it ended 38 years of prolonged martial law.
Before the Japanese occupation, Taiwan had also been colonized by Western powers such as the Netherlands and Spain. Empires that accumulated wealth through colonial exploitation eventually came to be seen as developed nations. Ironically, many Asian countries that experienced colonial rule now admire and consume European imagery. The apartment building that resembles a solitary castle in the forest is one such example. This fragment of an absurd reality feels like a stage for a darker version of the Disney Castle.
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