
By Yehlin Lee
Published by Akaaka, 2017 – Gift from the Artist – Signed –
Location : Studio Sakse – Chiang Mai, Thailand
“Raw Soul is a personal meditation on my home island, Taiwan, shot between 2011 and 2017.
Once dubbed ‘Ilha Formosa’, the beautiful island of Taiwan is now a chaotic urban sprawl, making that nostalgic perspective seem ironic. Beneath its modern façades lies a body of folk religions deeply embedded in daily life. Shrines are everywhere. Rituals set the clock for people’s lives. This somehow reflects the island’s history of oppression. People of different cultures have come and gone – their memories obliterated or blended with others, the fears and desires of generations inscribed in the folk beliefs.
In 2011, I returned to Taiwan after an unfulfilling career as a sound artist abroad. Feeling unfamiliar and alienated, I found myself wandering corners of the city, mostly after nightfall, uncertain about what sorts of photos I wanted to take. Yet, what attracted me was the spiritual intensity of the people, things, and landscapes as well as its suppression.
In my creative process over the years, I learned first how to listen and then how to look. The difference between these sensory modalities is that looking is more constrained by intention. We see what we want and follow that which is visible. But one cannot escape listening; all one can do is unconditionally accept whatever sounds arrive. The difference between the two modalities is like that between a spotlight and a sonar.
This mindset continues to influence my way of looking. Like a submarine, I wait for my inner background noise to settle. To simply feel without any intention. To open my consciousness to the unexpected. To remain silent and dive within, beyond the collective consciousness of the Taiwanese. The essence of Taiwanese characters, unknown to us, may reside in this chaos and confusion.
I savour this confusion in the dark. When sound is heard from within, I click the shutter.”
— Yehlin Lee