Creative murals in old warehouse set to become history

Chiayi Railway Warehouse Art Site lies hidden behind the railway station, where a row of warehouses lines an arrow-straight walkway. In 2000, after lying idle for some years, the warehouses took on a whole new look, becoming not only a great place for people to relax and while away the hours trainspotting, but also a source of creativity for many artists. Due to the new elevated railway policy, Taiwan Railway Bureau plans to terminate the warehouse lease at the end of February and this site of culture and creativity will face demolition.

Deeply reluctant to leave the old warehouse site, resident artist of 20 years, Tai Ming-te (戴明德), has decided to embellish the doors, walls and everything else with his emotionally charged artwork and allow it to be demolished along with the warehouse as a piece of art in its own right. Imbued with deep historical connotations, Tai Ming-te’s warehouse artwork seems set to become a lasting part of local history. Although the warehouse may not be able to be saved from demolition, the deep roots of art in the community will no doubt continue to sprout new artistic possibilities long into the future.

以下為中文對照

老倉庫牆面沒入歷史的創作

隱藏在嘉義後火車站旁的鐵道藝術村，這裡有著筆直的步道與成排的倉庫。原本是閒置的台鐵倉庫，一直到民國89年有了新風貌，這裡是民眾休憩遊玩，觀賞火車的好去處，也是許多藝術家創作的泉源。隨著鐵路高架的政策，台鐵局預計於2月底收回倉庫使用權，滿載文化的舞台將面臨拆除。

駐地創作20年的藝術家戴明德，感於對這老倉庫的不捨與離別的空虛，希望把自己的情感填滿所有門板與牆面，讓創作隨著倉庫的拆除畫入記憶。平面的藝術創作加入了時間的縱軸，讓深度融入歷史意涵，倉庫的拆除或許並不可逆，但藝術的生根對這片土地將留下後續萌芽的各種可能。