Ferment the Remaining Time I 企圖醃漬剩餘的時間

“… nostalgic had an amazing capacity for remembering sensations, tastes, sounds, smells, the minutiae and trivia of the lost paradise that those who remained home never noticed.”

—Svetlana Boym, The Future of Nostalgia

Several forgotten jars of pickles were discovered in the kitchen after everyone had moved out of my childhood home. More than just foods that have been preserved for years, these jars also held the memorable aroma of growing up in a traditional Hakka (1) household. I placed 16mm film strips inside these jars of perilla plums, aged radishes, and fermented tofu. After over a year, the sunset images of my childhood home captured on those film strips marked time imprinted by the acidity, alcohol, and salt in the food, representing my futile to prolong their lifespan.

(1) Hakka is a language group that originated from the northern provinces of China. Hakka cuisine is known for the use of preserved meats, tofu, and vegetables characterized as salty, fragrant, and umami.

因奶奶驟世後，家人決定搬離從小生長的老家時，在廚房發現許多被遺忘的罐裝醃漬物，裡頭裝的不只是陳年的食物，也是記憶中生長在傳統客家家庭裡的氣味。我把拍攝老家夕陽的16毫米膠卷，分別放進「紫蘇梅」、「黑色菜脯」和「豆腐乳」中醃漬一年，因醃漬物裡的酸、酒、鹽而斑駁的膠卷影像，回應了試圖延長膠卷裡夕陽保存期限的徒勞，和記憶隨時間消逝變形的不可逆性。

分別掃描黑色菜脯、紫蘇梅和豆腐乳醃漬後的膠卷，以1秒鐘1格、6格、12格的速度播放（1秒鐘24格是膠卷正常速度），回應醃漬手法試圖改變時間感知的特性。

The project was made possible by