Jump to the content zone at the center

Zhongshan Linear Park

Zhongshan Linear Park
Walk out of Exit No. 1 at MRT Zhongshan Station on the Tamsui Line and head toward MOCA Taipei on Chang'an W. Rd. you'll find yourself in the 600-meter-long Linear Park. What will strike you at once in this tuckedaway garden oasis is the large-scale works of installation art here, a decided improvement on the drab monotone that characterized this site when it was used solely as a place for generator facilities.

The“Taipei Tales”is a series of cute and colorful animalcreation mosaics crafted with ceramic tile.These creations were just completed in February. The project was initiated by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs, at a cost of NT$21 million. Management of the artwork was entrusted to MOCA Taipei, which then turned to four Taiwan artists for the four works now in place, all of which exude a sense of childlike play. Each of the works was specifically designed to complement its surrounding environment, and each follows one of the following themes:“Youth Stage and Family Space”, “Popular Fashion and Consumer Culture”,“Natural Ecology and the Aesthetics of Place”, and“Sci-Tech Aesthetics and Visual Culture”.

In the middle section of the park is “BIGPOW”, designed by artist Akibo Lee and featuring three humorous characters. This is a favorite with the kids, who can't resist coming over to touch and inspect the robots. The robots are in fact metamorphosed hi-fi equipment, and if you connect your MP3, iPod, or other device to the robots you'll be able to share your musical tastes with everybody on the scene. Zhongshan Linear Park The“Taipei Tales”is a series of cute and colorful animalcreation mosaics crafted with ceramic tile. 3.“BIGPOW” is a motley crew of cartoon-like robot characters, the favorite with kids.

Over in one corner of the park, on the wall of a generator station, artist Li Yi-xun has depicted his whimsical“Taipei Tales”, a series of mosaics created using ceramic tiles. He has created many playful vignettes. These include what looks like a treasure vault on a wall, shopping bags popping out through an open zipper, a hen leading a line of baby ducks with one atop her back, snails and rabbits in climbing contests, a fiddler crab and mudskippers originating in the Tamsui, and a cub and owl awaiting inspiration while taking a hot-spring bath.

Near the MRT Zhongshan Station's Chang'an W. Rd. exit is a wall covered in lush foliage. Look off a little ways and you'll spot seventeen brightly colored balloons seemingly escaping into the air. This is Liang Ren-hong's contribution, entitled“Sending Secret Signals with the Wind” . The balloons, which look like big lollipops, are in fact stainless-steel artworks that appear to be dancing with the breeze in lilting rhythm.

'Welcome to the Milky Way Railway Station' is an artwork that creates a world of illusion.Head out of the underground Zhongshan Metro Mall via the R4 exit and you'll enter an out-of-this-world work of the imagination entitled “Welcome to the Milky Way Railway Station”. The artwork on the walls of this long, narrow stairway sweep you along to the ground-level exit. The work is by Xu Tang-wei, who has used translucent colored cuttingsheet paper to create a world of illusion. You'll always find people here trying every which way to capture this magical space on camera.

The kid in you is no doubt i tching to get out now and see these flights of the imaginat ion, and there's even more good news to report, for MOCA Taipei is now offering fun and informative guided tours of the works for groups. See you in the park!

Information
MRT Zhongshan Station Linear Park

Location:
Between MRT Zhongshan Station Exit No. 1 and Chang'an W. Rd. Exit R4
Guided Group Tour Registration:
(02) 2552-3721 (foreign-language guides must be booked in advance)
Website: www.mocataipei.org.tw (Chinese)