Standing in the Middle of the Field: Zhang Liangyi's Photography Exhibition Presents the Beauty of the Fields
Editor's note: Veteran photographer Chang Liang-yi presents a photography exhibition centered on farmers. The exhibits include portraits of farmers standing in their fields, as well as images of them taking to the streets to protest under pressure from their environment. The exhibition will run from August 4 to September 2 in Tamsui. We thank the author for agreeing to publish some of the works here; readers are welcome to visit the venue to see the full collection.
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The farmer stands in a small patch of field, with no shelter between heaven and earth, holding up the sky and standing on the ground, wearing only a broken bamboo hat on his head, listening to the wind, listening to the rain...
-- quoted from Wu Yin-ning, "Where Is Jianghu?"
The paddy fields behind the MRT Hongshulin Station are set to be expropriated this year (2012) by the New Taipei City Government and planned for use as land for the Tamsui River North Side Expressway. After this year's rice harvest, this paddy field landscape may never be seen again! These paddy fields are adjacent to the Hongshulin Nature Reserve, accompanied by Guanyin Mountain and the Tamsui River, with a naturally beautiful landscape; yet they are surrounded and closely pressed by nearby high-rises and luxury homes, a miniature reflection of the current state of farmland in Taiwan, China.
Because of the pressures facing these paddy fields, the idea arose for a photography exhibition titled "Standing in the Middle of the Field," with farmers as its theme. The exhibited works are, first, portraits of farmers standing in their fields, hardworking and grounded, holding up the sky and standing on the ground; and second, images of farmers protesting again and again in front of government offices. These two utterly different facets not only show the farmers' unwavering attachment to the land, but also express worry and compassion for the difficulties they face.
I come from a farming family in Yuanlin, Changhua. In elementary school I followed my father, kneeling and crawling in the paddy fields to weed, a memory that remains fresh to this day; there was also the scene of fishing for frogs in the paddy fields and catching a water snake, when my companions were so frightened they threw down their fishing rods and scattered in all directions; or in junior high school, the boundless emerald green rice fields outside the classroom, with the rice waves rolling in the south wind, also vivid in my mind! These memories from the soil give me a special feeling toward farmers, who are like my father's generation, and keep me focused on their figures.
The farmer stands in a small patch of field, wearing a broken bamboo hat, with no shelter between heaven and earth, listening to the wind, listening to the rain. What he seeks is nothing more than a place where he can settle down and make a living, plowing and harvesting according to the solar terms; yet farmland is swallowed up piece by piece: whether for developing science parks, building roads, constructing luxury homes, or hoarding by conglomerates... Farmers rush from season to season, busy with farm work, yet are forced to put down their hoes and take to the streets. To defend their land and protect their homes, they stand in front of government offices, letting the blazing sun beat down, the heavy rain soak them, the cold wind blow, protesting! Protesting! Protesting without the slightest retreat!
Farmers produce food to sustain life; but why have these honest, good-hearted farmers been forced to this point?
