The exhibition A Gentle Breeze: Aura and Inspiration in Photography and Literature finds its starting point among a range of works by earlier generations of Taiwanese photographers archived at the National Center of Photography and Images, digging into the colonial history of Taiwan and its experience with modernization from the Japanese Colonial Period to Post-war Taiwan. The exhibition is curated in hopes of inspiring people’s reflection on culture and encouraging future conversation in society through the interplay between our gazes and the perspectives shown in the selected images. One of the major aims is to tap into how colonial aesthetics have influenced the perspectives of earlier Taiwanese photographers. Furthermore, with photographic documentation and observation that spotlight social status, folklife, and culture, Waves of Feminine Grace explores the femininity of contemporary Taiwanese women and depicts historical trends of aesthetic ideology that emerged in Taiwan’s society.

From the Japanese Colonial Period to the 50s of the Post-war Republic Era, also known as Taiwan’s Modern Era, the island experienced a major confluence of modernization and the impact of western culture. Through practices of looking and the re-emergence licensed through photography, this historical context contributes to the curatorial motivation to highlight the recessive ideology and the desire for freedom embedded in the images created during the modernization of the land. The exhibition features an epoch captured by the previous generations of photographers to present the fashion and aesthetics of society and the inner traits of a modern lifestyle. Highlighting the images of women, this exhibition showcases the images of the times and perspectives of ordinary people as a way of positioning the works in the context of history and inspiring further dialogues. Ultimately, the works are portrayals of Taiwan’s visual culture, connection to history, and the continuation of the life of images, allowing us to listen to the echo of history lingering in different periods of time.