Often seen in places around Taiwan, these large and unused public facilities are also known as “mosquito pavilions”. They often arise from inappropriate policies, where government, in the name of expanding internal consumptions and closing the urban and rural gaps, misjudge usage rates, implement inappropriate plans and designs, giving rise to the disused spaces around the country, a practice that till this day still remained. This project was executed by “Lost Society Document” formed by artist YAO Jui-Chung and students, targeting public facilities that cost huge funds in construction over the recent twenty years, every year one hundred cases that required the most attention and review was collected to form Mirage: Disused Public Property in Taiwan, over the past four years four volumes was published. This book selected one hundred critical cases from the four hundred cases exposed by the series, outlining the absurd state of Taiwanese society. In addition to providing the public a reference for reflection, it also allowed youths who have yet to serious observed their hometown to open up an alternative dialogue through the lens of the camera.


LSD (Lost Society Document)

　　LSD is a group made up of students from Taipei National University of the Arts and National Taiwan Normal University. In the beginning of the semester in 2010, YAO Jui-Chung asked the students about their expectations for this class whether to follow the normal class format or to investigate the “mosquito hall”. The students decided to do field studies. They identified 147 cases in six months and compiled the book Mirage I: Disused Public Property in Taiwan, which outlined the absurd situation in Taiwanese society and embodied the fact that “misguided policy is worse than corruption.” Meanwhile, this artistic action took a part of the 2010 Taipei Biennial Movement Project. It was widely reported by the media, and attracted a high level of attention from the government. It even prompted a call from the Vice President and a visit from the Premier of the Executive Yuan. After the meeting, YAO & LSD have constantly been working on the project and published Mirage almost every year: Mirage I (2010), Mirage II (2011), Mirage III (2013), Mirage IV (2014), Mirage V (2016) and Mirage (English version, 2016). The numbers of LSD members have increased to over 200 students and growing. The students’ art action was like a stone thrown into a pond, using artistic methods to hold up a social issue to scrutiny and engage the awareness of the people in regards to that issue.