Chang Chao-Tang is Taiwan`s most representative photographer. During the 1960s, in the conservative society of Taiwan, Chang Chao-Tang was a college student, profoundly moved and influenced by the social realist works in literature and surrealist painting. He published a series of absurd works that expressed his sense of ridiculousness and desolation. These included the works “Blurriness”, “White powder on peoples` faces”, “Figure without a head”, and “Shaken-up image of the body”. He found the camera a direct way to relieve his oppression as well as release his rebellious energy. His unique style made a great impression on Taiwanese photography, and he not only had exhibitions at home but also received international appreciation. In 2013, he had his first major retrospective exhibition in the Taipei Fine Art Museum.

In this exhibition at Zen Foto Gallery, we will show works from 1962~1985; from his early works, through to “Societal Memories” and “Inner Landscapes”, works published after the 1970s. In addition, we will introduce his video works and photography books. Through these three varied visual media, photographs, video and photograph books, we aim to present an outline of the development of Chang Chao-Tang’s photographic works.

In 1974, in an old train carriage en route to Hualien, I saw travelers quietly dozing in the warm sunlight, reminiscing and waiting. The scene felt familiar, yet how distant it was. A man had tied a lunchbox around himself and was walking down the tracks chewing on a toothpick.  
- Chang Chao-Tang, “On the Road”, 1974-2003. Film.

*image (left)
courtesy of the artist