City Mandala

City Mandala Fighting for Ideals co-creation by Print & Carve Dept and Wenzaizun Community.

Poetry text

一座城市 A City IUNA CIUDAD
誰忘了她的過去 QUE OLVIDA SU PASADO
ta 沒有未來 NO TIENE FUTURO
只有記憶/而非遺忘 Nur Erinnerung, nicht Vergesslichkeit.
能夠形塑你是誰 Gestalten Sie, wer Sie sind.
你是誰，Wer du bist
你從哪裡來，Woher kommst du
並知道往哪裡去…und wohin gehst du.

The poems in the work, with their variations in subject matter and language, symbolise different identities and an anti-capitalist resistance to urban space that knows no geographical boundaries.

The first three lines derive from a visit to the Duranguito neighbourhood of El paso, on the US-Mexico border, when Print & Carve Dept. took part in an exhibition of Ensamblaje Enzarzado(2024). A mural of a local old lady’s resistance was painted on the wall, with the words ‘IUNA CIUDAD/ QUE OLVIDA SU PASADO/ NO TIENE FUTURO’. in Spanish. The latter passage is taken from a Spanish text.

The following passage is from one of the anti-eviction and cultural preservation movement in Taiwan: a comic strip created during the preservation campaign of the Mitsui Warehouse in Beimen, which introduces the symbolism of the history of the Mitsui Warehouse building on the site, and ends with the lines: ‘Only memory / not forgetfulness / can shape who you are / where you came from / and know where you’re going’.

The first Layer | The composition of space-community-people.

The first Layer is the Core inner Circle, presenting the map of Wenzaizun are continuous streets, houses, surrounded by rivers and mountains, with a fisheye effect of this community in the urban landscape.

Bougainvillea, Feather Cockscomb, Camellia, Lewisia cotyledon, Iris, Graptopetalum mendozae, Hydrangeas, Chinese Moonflower, Hydrangeas, Chinese rose Flower, Heavenly bamboo and Rhodo are plants that we have seen in the fields, streets, parks, and gardens in Wenzaizun. There is a human figure in the center of each branch, representing that the community is made up of people.

Behind the flowers are the different creatures: ladybirds, fireflies, Mosquito fish ,butterfly dragonfly, common scaled water snake, formosan blue magpie, mandarin duck, rhinoceros beetle, grass carp, green-spotted triangle, and golden birdwing. Local elders told us that some of these animals are gradually decreasing in number or even disappearing, and they have also been living in this ecosystem.

The second Layer | Organic urban scene
A good urban plan allows people to interact naturally. Give people a better way to understand the place they live in.

The cell-like irregular outer wall symbolises the organic ecology of the urban landscape. Combined with our understanding of the lives of the residents of Wenzaizun, we have created 23 scenes of an ideal city based on the core concepts of ‘bottom-up’, ‘street ballet’, ‘feminism’, and ‘communal living’.

1. A pavement with cats and malayan night-herons where people and nature coexist.
2. A guerrilla performance using the public space under the viaduct.
3. Streets that are safe for pedestrians, skateboarding, and the elderly.
4. Riverside bike paths.
5. Street-side Taiwanese opera.
6. Little egrets by the Ta-Liao-keng Creek next to Meihua New Village.
7. The flat market.
8. Public bookcase on the street.
9. Teacher Tsai collected local stories about community history and geography and guided walks.
10. The daily life of the workers in the factory.
11. Roadside stall.
12. Local street food.
13. Long-Term Care migrate workers have their casual time in the city.
14. Resident Brother Yip shared his early days of earning a living by searching for a leaf of grass at Xinzhuang Fu Da.
15. Forest guarding.
16. Local plant and flower bazaar.
17. Resident Uncle Chen joined a senior theatre troupe and performed at the National Elementary School.
18. Resident Shi-En’s collection of old video games, comics and good wine.
19. Resident Shuwen elected to be the mayor of the neighbourhood to promote the community.
20. Maple Bridge Coffee’s owner and his wife chatting with customers.
21. The Printing Department held a live printing event at the Meiwah Story House.
22. Strolling around Brickyard Alley No. 1 with resident Mr. Lu.
23. Hsinchuang Community College organised the Centennial Vision Walk.

The third layer | Tools for representing identity

Around 18 implements that represent identity or weapons against injustice, The urban programme cannot only see the national interest, but also the need to allow for the spirit of individuality and community. The 18 tools are

1. Hammer - It can be used to destroy and repair houses, and can also be a production tool in factories.
2. Brick - the basic building material of a building.
3. Gloves - Essential for workers and home renovations
4. Election Vests - Residents have tried various ways to change the local political environment, including running for election.
5. Trophy - The bowling trophy that residents uncle Chen share their interests and achievements in life.
6. Fishing rod - Residents share their own recreational equipment, and go fishing at the beach to have their own adventures.
7. Gardening shears - to take care of the beautiful gardens at home.
8. Walking Aid - A good helper for the elderly to get around.
9. Pan and fried rice - An essential tool for home cooking. In the past, residents have used fried rice as a way to protest against the government’s use of urban planning to drive up land prices.
10. Books — The complete works of Marx’s “Capital: A Critique of Political Economy”, which are important to the young people who are struggling, as well as the spiritual food of the residents’ hard work and social concepts recorded, including “Goodbye,Wenzaizunin” , “Wenzaizun is my Neighbor”, and “Light Spot Story Collection”.
11. Computer - a helper in spreading ideas, connecting relationships, and inviting people to participate in local activities.
12. Loud Public - to let the voice from the bottom to the top be heard during the struggle.
13. Screws - Material used to join objects together and hold them tightly in place. It is also one of the tools and materials produced by the Wenzaizun factory.
14. Broom and dustpan - to clean up local streets and public spaces, the MCCC Storytelling Centre has been maintained by a number of joint clean-ups between students and residents.
15. Tailor - used in the factories of Peihua plastic factory in the past, and necessary for family workers.
16. Paint - material for repainting walls and protest cloth.
17. Fabric scissors - for cutting protest fabric and printmaking fabric, sometimes needed for sewing old clothes or for home-based labour.
18. Camera - to record precious moments, including local history and culture and the process of protest.

The fourth layer | A city scroll including Wenzaizun

The houses are connected in a circle by scrolls, symbolizing the ever-changing daily scene. Public spaces, residences and regional characteristics of Wenzaizunin, it also integrates the growth, destruction and regeneration of urban buildings. It is the accumulation of memories and life trajectories of people living here, and also carries the lives of residents into the future.