‘Shoot the Pianist’ is an exhibition revisiting the underground noise scenes in Taipei during the first-half of the 1990s. Its title is taken from a dystopian parable written by the Taiwanese noise band LTK Commune, which depicts how the social system of Taiwan gradually collapses when a number of classical pianists are shot dead and ‘the nation becomes under the control of a bunch of pang-ke (punks)’.
Following the lifting of martial law and the March Student Movement, the early 1990s in Taiwan saw a critical transition from an authoritarian regime towards an increasingly democratic polity and a neoliberal capitalist society. It was also a period when the underground arts scene around the capital city of Taipei was booming. Utilising emerging alternative art spaces and outdoor festivals as platforms, young artists and cultural workers explored various art forms, ranging from noise performances, junk art, ‘little theatre’, installation, fanzine, underground comics and experimental film, as ways to challenge mainstream culture and what they perceived to be an institutional artworld. Their practices would be described as the ‘underground noise movement’ in later years.
‘Shoot the Pianist- The Noise Scene in Taipei 1990-1995’ held at the Peltz Gallery will for the first time in the UK, trace the historical development of these local noise scenes with archival materials. These materials include handbills, ‘zines, photographs, moving-images, homemade cassettes and records from alternative spaces Sickly Sweet and Apartment No. 2; the art group, Taiwan Documenta; the noise bands, Z.S.L.O. and LTK Commune; Taipei Broken Life Festival (1994/95) and the first local record label focusing on experimental sound, Noise. These historical documents will be augmented by prolific Taiwanese artists HOU Chun-ming and YAO Jui-chung’s works, which include prints and photography documenting the urban ruins in the early 1990s.
Several related events will be held in conjunction with this exhibition, in both London and Glasgow. The first is a screening held at Birkbeck Cinema, where the films of Taiwanese filmmakers HUANG Ming-chuan and Singing CHEN’s will be screened. These films which document Taiwan’s noise and sound art scenes will be followed by a panel discussion. The second event will be a live sound art performance where Taiwanese sound artists, WANG Fujui, LIN Chiwei and Dino (LIAO Ming-ho) will be performing in collaboration with UK-based sound artist, Michael Speers and Kenny Love, at Café OTO in East London. Both the screening and the performance will then tour Glasgow, as a part of the Counterflows Festival2015 programme.
‘Shoot the Pianist- The Noise Scene in Taipei 1990-1995’ is curated by YU Wei, as a part of the Taiwan Spotlight Project, presented by both Birkbeck, University of London and the Taipei Representative Office in the UK. The Taiwan Spotlight Project is funded by the Ministry of Culture (Republic of China, Taiwan) and by the generosity of Dr Samuel Yin.
「射殺鋼琴師」一詞取自台灣噪音樂團「濁水溪公社」所撰的一篇宣言，描寫古典鋼琴師接二連三遭到射殺、現存台灣社會體制逐步崩解，最後整個國家被一群龐克所控制。借用這個異托邦的寓言為引子，這項展覽將重訪1990年代前半活躍於台北的地下噪音場景。
自解嚴與三月學運以降，1990年代初期的台灣，經歷了從早先威權政體轉型至新自由資本主義景觀的關鍵轉折，圍繞於台北盆地邊緣地帶的地下文化場景也蓬勃發展。年輕的藝術家、文化工作者與自學表演者，憑藉著新興另類空間與戶外嘉年華為平台，探索形式多樣的文化實踐，從噪音表演、垃圾藝術、小劇場、地下刊物、自製卡帶、地下漫畫到實驗短片等，作為挑戰主流文化及體制化藝術世界之策略。其連綴起的另類文化場景在後來被描述為地下噪音運動。
在倫敦大學柏貝克學院佩爾茨藝廊舉辦的「射殺鋼琴師：台北噪音場景 1990-1995」展，將是上述台灣在地噪音場景史料在英國的首次展出。透過手繪傳單、地下刊物、照片、錄像、自製卡帶、唱片等文件，展覽將耙梳另類空間與團體「甜蜜蜜」、「二號公寓」及「台灣檔案室」；噪音團體「零與聲音解放組織」與「濁水溪公社」；兩次舉辦的「台北破爛生活節」以及台灣第一個噪音廠牌「Noise」的歷史軌跡。展場中還包括台灣藝術家侯俊明的版畫與姚瑞中的廢墟攝影，他們在1990年代的早期創作將呼應上述這些歷史檔案。
展覽相關活動將包括一場在2015年3月31日傍晚在柏貝克學院電影院舉辦的放映會，分別放映台灣導演黃明川與陳芯宜所分別執導的兩部關於台灣噪音與聲音藝術場景的紀錄片《後工業藝術祭》（1995）與《如果耳朵有開關》（2009-2011）。導演陳芯宜也將特別前來倫敦參加映後座談。4月2日晚間，在位於東倫敦的實驗聲響重鎮Café OTO將會有一場聲音藝術演出，演出者包括三位活躍於台灣早期地下噪音場景的藝術家林其蔚、王福瑞與Dino（廖銘和），以及英國聲音藝術家Michael Speers與Kenny Love。三位台灣藝術家與導演陳芯宜也將隨後北上，在蘇格蘭葛拉斯哥舉辦的音樂季「Counterflows 2015」進行另一場聲音藝術表演，並參與《如果耳朵有開關》放映會暨映後討論。
「射殺鋼琴師：台北噪音場景 1990-1995」展由游崴策畫，為倫敦大學柏貝克學院策畫的「當代藝術在台灣──探索邊緣」系列之一，屬於由尹衍樑博士捐助台灣文化部之 「台灣文化光點計畫」。
活動網站：https://undergroundtaipei.wordpress.com/
