"The pure present is an ungraspable advance of the past devouring the future. In truth, all sensation is already memory."    Henri-Louis Berg 《Matter and Memory》

A layered memory of Tainan—the trajectories of “salt” and “sugar” have long receded into everyday life. Salt, in fact, was Tainan’s earliest economic lifeline. Surrounded by the sea, Taiwan drew salt from the encounter of land and ocean, with the industry even predating sugar production.

The exhibition site itself is a former sugar warehouse, a witness to the beginnings of Taiwan Sugar’s history. Its architectural space also becomes part of the artwork, carrying the material culture and memories spanning the Japanese colonial period and beyond. In this context, the meaning of salt merges into the layered memory of the sugar warehouse. Within Soulang Cultural Park, the Tainan Heritage Architectural Material Vault preserves delicate and complete sugar-industry relics, while Taiwan’s only Salt Museum still retains ecological models of traditional salt farming.

Ordinary objects once in use are each inscribed with a number. They may not immediately “explain” themselves, yet they bear the imprint of their era—like the hidden strata of everyday life. Thus, the juxtaposed numbers of sweetness and salinity entwine like causes and consequences, forming the deeper memory of Tainan’s material culture.
 

Personal Introduction
Leung Mee Ping. Born in Hong Kong. Multi-media Artist