CHEN I-Hsuen

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CHEN I-Hsuen

Participating Project	Exchange Residency Program (Creators from abroad)
Activity Based	Taiwan
City	Tokyo
Period	2020.1- 2020.3

Purpose of the residency

I would like to research and film the "New Home Project,” which focuses on “the homeless” that have been relocated to another place, or their “new home,” because of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. I am interested in: what matters to these “residents” on the edge of the society amidst the globalized sports events and that whether the homeless can take root after drifting outside for long? Also, how will they survive in the days to come. Finally, to unveil the power structure between the “residents” and the authorities.

Plan during the residency

・Field research of “New Home Project”–––photographic survey of the residential scene. (before and now)
・Field research of “New Home Project”–––interviews of the residents and social workers
・Filming of “New Home Project”–––to film the choreographed theatrical happenings of the residents. (TBC)
・Filming of “New Home Project”–––B-rolls
・Research of Tokyo photography scene

Activities during the residency

The project called “Soft Quarantine,” focusing on the homeless people’s “housing” situation in Tokyo. On the street, I tried to portray the scenery of the thin line between public and private territory. We can see several “Do Not Enter” signs, retractable barriers and cones everywhere in Tokyo city, creating some kind of social distance. It happen to be synchronized with the current pandemic situation of the covid-19 in Tokyo, as if we are all doing some kind of self-quarantine, softly.

Overview of the residency

It’s nice to do a photo research in Tokyo, especially based in TOKAS. Besides this current photography project, there is also another project about a 70-years-old homeless guy who accidentally picked up a camera. Due to the limited time I have for this residency, I cannot finish this project. Hopefully someday I can come back to continue.

Creator Information