On our few remaining days in Taiwan in November 2012, we decided that we’d get the most out of the little time we had left to scope out the capital Taipei for all of it’s street art worth.
Having done a little online research it seemed that there was an arts community near the centre called ‘Taipei Artist Village’ where we should be able to amble about taking a few photos and maybe grabbing a coffee at the in-house cafe/souvenir shop.
Thankfully, we always walk to our locations rather than taking a taxi or the bus.
Why are we thankful? Because we discover fantastic street art like this:
An Off The Path Discovery
As we venture across an open park near to our destination we could see from the distance a single building standing at the very end of the field, abandoned from all appearances with grass covering a lot of the building. The windows are boarded up, some filled in with bricks, but almost every wall is white.
As we approach we can see that each window is filled with a different piece of street art, but they’re all connected by the same sketch, all part of the same large scale piece.
Franca was the first to notice the name that was attached to the pieces, the name is ‘Candy Bird and after researching when returned to our Couchsurfing hosts house, we learnt that he’s a Taiwanese artist that has pieces all over Taipei.
NOTE – you can see more of his work via his personal flickr account, or you can follow his profile on Facebook
As I edged around the building and Franca kept taking more shots, I found that each side had a different piece that pulled together are one giant piece of the jigsaw, that it all tells a tale, much like a storyboard for a brand new film or the latest cartoon
Together the jigsaw could represent any number of different meanings, to me personally I read that it’s a portrayal of humanities destructive nature, that we find it so easy to destroy, that it’s instinctive and leaves us with nothing outstanding, nothing worthwhile, that we’ll be left with nothing but the rotation of life, work, die.
Perhaps it even tells a tale of Taiwan’s building of industry, that it’s built off the back of others, built off the destruction of the what should really be preserved.
Watching the Magic Happen
Also during our research we came upon some Youtube videos on the man behind the paint brush. There are a number to view, but having been back to the videos a view times I found myself really enjoying watching the creative process and watching Candy Bird work.
Here’s one more recent short video of Candy Bird at work that is really worth a watch.
Wow, fascinating street art! Really creative how the pieces are separated and tell stories open to different interpretations. Thanks for sharing them!
Mary @ Green Global Travel recently posted…FRIDAY PHOTO: Turtle & Dragonfly in Sanibel Island, Florida
Our pleasure, and glad that you liked them 🙂
Dale recently posted…How We Used Reddit To Meet, Eat & Stay With A Local
Best thing I love about traveling to a new city is discovering the local street art….
Roving Jay recently posted…Expat Carnival #2: Making Yourself at Home
Same thing here for us, it’s always our chief hope that we’re going to find something spectacular.
I love it! This is some really great street art. Although I love pretty much all street art, I must admit. haha.
I’m glad you liked what we found, Simone 🙂
Dale recently posted…Weekend Photo Theme – Nature and Architecture
Some groovy murals there! I always find street art to be so fascinating, how people can make something out of things that most people pass by on their way through life without giving a second glance!
T.W. Anderson @ Marginal Boundaries recently posted…Comment on My Secret Life as an Expat Gamer – A Social Outing by T.W. Anderson
I’d love to be able to replicate the very same idea of making art appear out of nowhere on something or someplace that we walk past every day, no longer notice and just take for granted.
I guess thats part of the mass appeal of street art, not only for fans but for the artists themselves.
Great photos…I love street art! It’s so vivid and unpredictable. Actually just found some impressive artwork in Toronto a cpl months back. Even got to see a few artists at work in the Kensington Market area. Here’s the link if you care to take a look: http://theholidaze.com/north-america/canada/toronto-graffiti-art
Derek Freal recently posted…Indonesian Food Cheat-Sheet: Tips & Translations For First-Timers
Wow Derek, that’s quite the collection of graffiti in your post, really must have been interesting to see people working on their latest pieces.
Love it! Looks like Beavis and/or Butthead! 😛
Steph | DiscoveringIce.com recently posted…Surf, Sea and Sand in Sayulita, Mexico [VIDEO]
There’s been a few people saying just the very same. Weird, I couldn’t see it before but now it’s all I see.
Dale recently posted…How We Went Meat Eaters To Veggie On Our Travels
I love murals! The ones you have here are really cool!
Just found your blog. Love it!
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Thanks so much, glad you liked them and the site too. 🙂
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