The Pingtung Land Art Festival Debuts: Check Out Ten Large-Scale Installations First

By MOOK Scenic Spots Family Editorial Team

The Pingtung Land Art Festival debuts in October in Shengli New Village, Pingtung City. Ten large-scale installations are either standing tall or hidden away in streets and alleys, adding creative charm to the city and surprising both residents and visitors. To preserve the military dependents' village culture, the county government has preserved a total of 71 buildings housing 110 households. This year, an additional 12 buildings in the Chongren Military Dependents’ Village Tonghai Area have been added, all of which have been registered as historic buildings. The layout of the former Japanese-era air force dormitory complex in Pingtung City is remarkably well-preserved. Under these cultural and historical considerations, initiatives such as the “Revitalizing Historical Sites” project have been promoted, allowing these military villages to rediscover their vibrancy and charm.

The urban landscape of Pingtung City has been gradually transforming in recent years, enriched with elements of culture, art, and tourism to enhance the city’s character. For the first time, the county government is hosting a land art festival, selecting the military dependents' villages that carry retro city memories. Through artists' creations, it bridges the past and the future, developing new ideas from the atmosphere of bygone eras.

The ten installations at the land art festival include: “Modern Times Elegance,” “Collecting Memories,” “Victory Frontline,” “Little Tigers Squad,” “Daydream Cave,” “Surrounding the Hut,” “Building a Fence,” “Border Variations,” “Cat Play,” and “Helmet Exploring the World.” They are placed near the General’s House and the military song hall alleyways. Some stand out prominently on the roadside, while others require you to wander into the alleys to discover them. Strolling through the area is full of charm and interest.

These works all reflect themes related to the history, culture, or environment of the military dependents' villages. For example, “Surrounding the Hut” draws inspiration from children in the villages visiting each other’s homes—showcasing the close-knit and united emotional bonds of the residents. The artist used cheerful red plastic stools and chairs to build a stool tower. “Modern Times Elegance” uses iron sculptures to create furniture and house-shaped installations, allowing one to feel the passage of time in the village's history. “Victory Frontline” arranges bent pipe structures in rectangular patterns, mimicking the National Day aerial performances where planes soared across the sky, evoking memories of the villages’ former glory.

“Helmet Exploring the World” crafts an oversized helmet modeled after a pilot’s headgear, expressing the desire to adventure into the sky, riding the wind and floating in the free currents of air. “Collecting Memories” uses ceramic to fire the doorplates of military village households, gathering the memories of home together. Since early military villages were initially temporary residences, most were built with thatch and bamboo at first, later replaced by bricks and cement. “Building a Fence” not only echoes the history of the military villages in name but also reconstructs the former village landscapes artistically.