Preserve 貯藏: A Living Archive of Taste and Memory
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
2026
Together as TOPO Studio, multidisciplinary artist Yun-Chu Liang and I have imagined ourselves as humans from 100 years in the future, returning to the present year of 2026. Our mission: to investigate how people preserve memory and cultural identity through food and flavor. During our residency at the Pier-2 Art Center, we navigated the streets of Kaohsiung and its markets—such as the Yancheng “First Public Retail Market” and the “Grand Stage Theater Traditional Market”—in our futuristic “space rover” to conduct field research.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the markets and the Yancheng District, simple greetings blossomed into deep conversations. In response to the question, “What flavors or ingredients would you like us to preserve and pass on to people a century from now?”, we received a wealth of answers. Our database grew with every story, layering ancient cooking techniques and food preservation methods to form a rich tapestry of cross-generational cultural memory.
Our residency culminated in the presentation of our research-work in a week-long interactive exhibition at the Pier-2 Art Center.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the markets and the Yancheng District, simple greetings blossomed into deep conversations. In response to the question, “What flavors or ingredients would you like us to preserve and pass on to people a century from now?”, we received a wealth of answers. Our database grew with every story, layering ancient cooking techniques and food preservation methods to form a rich tapestry of cross-generational cultural memory.
Our residency culminated in the presentation of our research-work in a week-long interactive exhibition at the Pier-2 Art Center.
© Photos by 宋相邦 Hsiang-Pang Sung (Pier-2 Art Center, 2026)