The National Center of Photography and Images (NCPI) launched the exhibition “Vanités Modernes (虛空之境：當代攝影中的領土與都市凝視)” on June 24. Co-curated by French curator Raphaële Bertho and Taiwan-based French photographer Hubert Kilian, the exhibition presents works by 19 Taiwanese and French artists, exploring the complex relationships among contemporary society, people, land, and urban life through photography.
Inspired by “vanitas,” an art genre of still-life painting that flourished in the Netherlands in the 17th century, the exhibition reflects on a society clinging to obsolete utopias while confronting the raw power of living ecosystems. Their images depict a world in flux, unstable, fragmented, and marked by a profound loss of identity and coherence, serving as contemporary vanitas.
The exhibition is structured into two parts: “Nos Territoires” and “La Ville.” “Nos Territoires,” on view from June 24 to Nov. 2, offers a reflection of our human-shaped world that is both subtle and clear-eyed, questioning how we might learn to live in a world where concrete, asphalt, and neon have replaced our mountains and forests. Featured artists include Yao Jui-chung (姚瑞中), Eric Tabuchi and Nelly Monnier, Shen Chao-liang (沈昭良), Chang Chih-ta (張志達), Elina Brotherus, among others.
“La Ville,” the second part of the exhibition, opens on July 16 and focuses on tensions and challenges arising from urbanization.
For more information, visit the NCPI official website.