Heritage and Visual Journalism [Joanne Lin]

TRANSCRIPTS

小時候
好久喔
不是我本人，但我印象最深刻的是你們大舅公發生的事
他七歲的時候一個人出去玩，結果掉入糞坑裡面
很久以前的時候，我們廁所的糞坑都在外面
經過太陽曬的話，就乾了
但他不知道，就掉下去
還好有路人經過看到才救了他
不然的話，就沒命了
嗯，那是阿嬤最小時候的印象

When I was a kid?
Wow, that’s a long time ago!
Actually, it’s not something that happened to me but to my brother, your great uncle.
When he was seven years old, he went out to play by himself and ended up falling into a latrine.
Way back then, our toilets were outdoor latrines.
When the sun came out, they would dry up some in the sun.
He didn’t notice [it was a latrine] and fell in.
Thankfully, there were people passing by who saw and saved him.
Otherwise, he would have died.
Yeah, that’s a memory from when I was very young.

ARTIST STATEMENT

What is the artwork about?
My artwork is based on a story my grandma told me about my great uncle. One day, when he was seven years old, he went out to play by himself and ended up falling into a latrine. Way back then, the toilets were outdoor latrines and when the sun came out, they would dry up some in the sun. He thought it was just some dirt and fell in. Thankfully, there were people passing by who saw and saved him.

What can you see in the picture?
In the picture, you can see my great uncle in a latrine, with excreta up to his chin. Then there is the woman who was passing at the time in a bent down position, pulling him out. In the background are some houses that I searched on google and asked my grandma for inspiration to try and draw them as accurately as possible to what they lived in back then.

What was your goal when making this artwork?
My goal for this artwork was to try and imitate the story as much as possible and also to use unique colors to paint it. Another goal of mine was to be able to draw the expressions of the people in the story accurately.

How do you want the viewer to feel when they look at your interview, transcript, and artwork?
When people see my project, I want them to not only see the story but also acknowledge the background, especially the latrine and see how people lived before. I want them to feel the hidden message that ‘taking a few minutes to do something could actually save someone’s life’.

What else do you want viewers to know about your artwork?
I want viewers to know how the Taiwanese lived before.