「記述位於小琉球島上的蕭壠城的形勢及其居民的習俗、戰爭和其他事情。為我們迄今所能探尋到和親自看到的事情。」—— 蕭壠城記，1623年
我迷戀賽鴿歸巢的本能，甚至到某種狂熱的程度，卻私心的想知道不是台灣原生種的鴿子究竟從何而來。在大量史料的挖掘爬梳下，如獲至寶的認識了荷蘭東印度公司雇員Pontanus，想像跟隨他的旅程在蘭船東去航線下遍處尋覓鴿子的蹤跡。我計劃利用駐點踏察的機會，穿越交疊十七世紀殖民者的路線，復返歷史現場的觀看。從大航海時代小人物Pontanus的視角考古又考現兼帶點地誌學的方法分章節輯數書寫與影像互文，趁隙尋找心疼未受重視的鴿子身影(考古)，同時也關注當代城市群落與在地環境發展(考現)。更直白的說，這是假藉著尋找自己心愛鴿子的故事，延續近年《Pontanus的日誌本》作品系列，隨著帝國幽靈穿越劇般在他鄉異國情調下，偕行遊歷綺麗福爾摩沙旅程，也對照既存在於現實的又存在於想像當下的。
第六輯《蕭壠城記》，蕭壠為臺南市佳里區舊名，其地名源自四百年前重疊於今蕭壠文化園區週遭的西拉雅族四大社之一，人口數頗多、社群發展活絡的蕭壠社（Soulang）音譯而來。蕭壠社既早在一六二三年荷蘭殖民政權覬覦福爾摩沙的前一年，便派人前來進行島嶼探勘所提及的地方，這份被稱為「蕭壠城記」的踏查報告後來也成為西方最早描述臺灣人的重要史料。四百年後的佳里區是臺南溪北大北門地區的政經中心，所幸鄰近南科設廠等諸多因素人口有回流現象，而逃過縣市合併後的南北經濟失衡、地方發展變遷等劫數，卻也間接導致熱區地價逐漸高漲。此作品將叩合國際藝術進駐計劃主題：欲透過藝術創作的形式，重新思考大臺南四百年的時空紋理變遷，伴隨著福爾摩沙處境與政經影響下的全球化、後殖民等現象。
“Chronicling the situation, customs, battles, and incidents happening in Soulang City on Little Liuqiu Island. It’s what we’ve been able to explore and see personally so far.” -- The Story of Soulang City 1623
My obsession with the innate homing ability of Racing Homer pigeons is overwhelming. To satisfy my curiosity, I’ve been exploring where these pigeons non-native to Taiwan originated from. After delving into and analyzing loads of historical materials, fortuitously, I encountered Pontanus, the employee of the Vereenigde Oost-indische Compagnie (VOC), and started to imagine our adventures of looking for pigeons through the voyages of Dutch ships towards the East. I conducted field research during my residency, tracing the routes from the 17th-century colonizer by returning to the historic sites. From the perspective of Pontanus, a nobody in the Age of Sail, I carried out archaeological and modern-social investigations based on the approaches of topology, which have been implemented by sectioning texts into chapters and volumes as well as intertextuality in visual images. While searching for (in an archaeological manner) the presence of pigeons that were unbearably insignificant, I also paid very much attention on contemporary urban communities as well as environmental development in local regions (modern social phenomena). Straightforwardly speaking, I intend to pursue the stories of my beloved pigeons in the name of developing the series of “The Diary of Pontanus” that I’ve created in recent years. Like a time traveler, I embarked on a journey of discovery with an imperial ghost in this charming Formosa, a place that was foreign and exotic to him. The contrast between reality and imagination at the present has been constantly made during this trip.
In “The Diary 06 of Pontanus -The Story of Soulang City”, Soulang was the ancient name of Jiali District in Tainan. Four hundred years ago, Soulangh, one of the four major Siraya tribes, was a populous and well-connected community. Siao-long Cultural Park, which is based on the same territory today was transliterated from the name, Soulangh. In 1623, a year in advance of Dutch’s colonization of Taiwan, Soulangh tribe had already existed in the areas later investigated and mentioned by the Dutch. The report of certain field investigations, titled “The Story of Soulang City”, has become the first historical material about ancient Taiwan documented by the westerners. Four hundred years later, Jiali District has become a political and economic center of the Great Beimen Area in Tainan. Fortunately, economic imbalance between northern and southern Tainan and the problems of regional growth didn’t occur here after the merger of Tainan City and County because of population inflow owing to some factors, such as enterprise investment in the adjacent Tainan Science Park. However, local development also pushes prices up for the real estate market in hot zones. The project, according with the theme of the residency program, aims at creating a work that reflects the changes happening over four hundred years in Tainan under the circumstances of globalization, which has affected Taiwan’s role politically and economically as well as its post-colonization phenomena.
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