NATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND IMAGES-Future Exhibitions

Since its establishment, the National Center of Photography and Images (NCPI) has been dedicated to preserving and promoting photographic culture. Currently, the NCPI has acquired over 13,000 photographic works and assets, gradually building a crucial database for researching Taiwan’s photographic culture. The 2025 NCPI Collection Exhibitions focus on Taiwan’s photographic development since the 1940s and the creation of contemporary images, featuring two thematic exhibitions: The Realm of Narrative: Witnessing and Inner Voice Behind the Lens and Profiling through the Lens: Shifting Gazes and Reframed Views in Photography. These exhibitions explore how images convey shared memories through the lens of “narrative” and “perspective,” highlighting artists’ interpretations and viewpoints.

The Realm of Narrative explores the overlapping spatial and temporal contexts of photography through three thematic subtopics: “Chronicles of Two Cities” features Chang Tsai and Wu Shao-Tung capturing everyday moments with realist images; “Noise of Youth” delves into the inner voices of Qi Deng Sheng (Liu Wu-Hsiung) and Quo Ying-Sheng amid the currents of modern thought; and “Presence and Witnessing” highlights Chang Tsang-Sang and Hsu Po-Hsin, emphasizing their brave camera work that captures on-the-spot scenes and realities. Together, these three narrative dimensions reflect the development of Taiwanese photography, which has moved from straightforward realism to modern transformation and reflective witnessing.

Profiling through the Lens showcases works by ten photographers: Hwang Pai-Chi, Hsieh San-Tai, Tsai Ming-Te, Chang Chien-Chi, Huang Tzu-Ming, Pan Hsiao-Hsia, Wang Yu-Pang, Kao Jun-Honn, Yang Shun-Fa, and Wu Cheng-Chang. The exhibition utilizes the concept of “profiling” as a metaphor to highlight how photographers add layers to and enrich reality through diverse ways of seeing. Through actions of entering, documenting, and reconstructing scenes, the exhibition emphasizes the multifaceted nature of photographic viewpoints. Photography, in this case, becomes a means of reconstructing history and memory, further exploring how images engage in dialogues with history, individuals, and society.

The 2025 NCPI Collection Exhibitions examine how images act as social memories, reflect personal emotions, and embody the zeitgeist through the dual dimensions of narrative and perspective, inviting us to reconsider the many possibilities of photography existing between archives and images: photography is not only a trace of history but also a starting point for understanding society, questioning reality, and envisioning the future.

The Realm of Narrative: Witnessing and Inner Voice Behind the Lens

In an era where digital generation and algorithmic distribution of images increasingly dominate image sharing, The Realm of Narrative highlights the unique aspects of photography -- “presence” and “inner voice” -- and explores the potential of image narrative. It stresses how photographers enter sites of photography and create interaction with their subjects and live events, imbuing images with emotional warmth through their presence. The stories told through images are more than just about timing and aesthetic expression. Through print and digital platforms, they foster a dialogic space between capturing and viewing images.

This exhibition follows a curatorial thread based on the collection of the National Center of Photography and Images. It highlights the expansibility of image narrative through three subthemes: the realist style in “Chronicles of Two Cities,” the shifts in modern consciousness in “Noise of Youth,” and the straightforward societal reportage and documentation in “Presence and Witnessing.”

Starting in the 1940s, “Chronicles of Two Cities” centers on the image archives of Chang Tsai and Wu Shao-Tung. Living through the historical junctions of Shanghai and Taiwan, the photographers experienced the upheavals of their time and captured scenes of everyday life through a realistic lens, conveying uncomplicated yet perceptive viewpoints while passionately illuminating moments of that era.

“Noise of Youth” revolves around the creative “inner voices” of Qi Deng Sheng and Quo Ying-Sheng, bringing an additional narrative layer to photography. Using images and texts, the photographers have expressed personal states of mind that resonate with their times. Through their personal sensibilities, they have explored the distance between self and viewer, creating legacies of unfinished stories that extend beyond framed images and the boundaries of studium.

“Presence and Witnessing” showcases the courage of photographers confronting societal issues. Chang Tsang-Sang and Hsu Po-Hsin employed methods such as on-site documentation and reportage, directing their lenses at society. As both reporters and active participants, they have produced compelling images that examine humanity and their era, emphasizing the close connection between photography’s focus on reality and its societal engagement.

Exhibition Themes

Chronicles of Two Cities
Chronicles of Two Cities
“Chronicles of Two Cities” features images of Shanghai and Taiwan in the 1940s, taken by Chang Tsai and Wu Shao-Tung, highlighting the realist nature of photography. Shanghai, along the Huangpu River, was a melting pot of colonial cultures and overflowing capital. Following the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and the Nationalist Government’s retreat to Taiwan, large-scale military and civilian relocations brought different cultures and tensions. Using a realist approach rooted in everyday life, the photographers used their visual language to respond to and express concerns about societal changes. Chang Tsai, born in Taipei, moved with his family to Shanghai from 1941 to 1946 to avoid being drafted by Imperial Japan. The stark difference between the rich and the poor there had a profound impact on him. Known for his integrity and fearless spirit, Chang’s photography conveys his concern for ordinary people and his humanistic reflection. Wu Shao-Tung was born in Guangdong and grew up in Shanghai. According to existing image archives, he started working as a photojournalist, documenting Shanghai’s postwar recovery from 1945. After 1947, Wu moved to Taiwan. His archival negatives capture a plain yet vivid view of daily life in the military dependents’ villages.
Noise of Youth
Noise of Youth
This section highlights two photographers: Qi Deng Sheng (Liu Wu-Hsiung) and Quo Ying-Sheng, whose photography, like literary writing, reveals subtle emotional shifts through intimate perspectives. Their viewfinders, reminiscent of solitary lights in an isolated room, illuminate internal voids and capture emotions and mental states on film. Their photographic language, enriched by stream-of-consciousness techniques and introspective monologues, transforms external forms into mental imagery, producing images that reflect postwar “modernist thought” but also express a cry against the loneliness of youth.Quo Ying-Sheng’s pervasive loneliness and solitude have shaped a consistent emotional mood since childhood and inspired his works. His images featuring themes of desolation and abruptness serve as his means of self-expression. Having experienced eras of martial law and censorship, both the real and surreal realms of silence constantly appear in his work. Qi Deng Sheng utilized writing to construct his identity, exploring subjects such as childhood trauma, erotica, and life’s contexts through his art. He published Return to the Sand River in 1986, combining images and writings that depict both reality and dreams. As he captured the melancholic scenes of the “Sand River,” his camera also forever preserved his reflection and self-examination.
Presence and Witnessing
Presence and Witnessing
Founded in 1985, Renjian magazine promoted photography’s role in social engagement and storytelling. The lifting of martial law in 1987 and the subsequent end of newspaper restrictions in 1988 ushered in a more open-minded era in terms of thought and speech for Taiwanese society. Photographers captured social moments more directly, witnessing drastic political and cultural changes, using their work for reportage, activism, and exploring reality. This made photography a vital tool for examining and representing society. Hsu Po-Hsin worked as a photojournalist at the Independence Evening Post from 1988 to 1995, capturing key images of Taiwan’s street movements during that time. These social movements, occurring before and after the lifting of martial law, were crucial events during Taiwan’s reform. His work highlights moments of drastic social change from a grassroots perspective. Chang Tsang-Sang, who has long engaged in reportage photography, combines text and images with a deep humanitarian focus, concentrating on marginalized and disadvantaged groups in society. In 1999, shortly after the 921 Earthquake in Taiwan, he visited disaster zones to produce news reports and take family portraits, documenting efforts to rebuild the community. The unique narrative approaches of these two photographers demonstrate photography’s power to engage society and bear witness to truth.