Polish photographer Maciej Korbas has been in Taiwan for only six months, but apparently has quite a following already. His newfound friends organized an exhibition of his work that runs until May 1st, at 3+2 Design Studio, a stone’s throw from the Shandao Temple MRT station.
The opening on Saturday evening was so packed, people overflowed outside the small venue, and were sitting outside on the sidewalks, chatting, some with computers. It seemed like a major social opportunity for hordes of young Taiwanese. Inside, someone accidentally knocked down a hanging poster for the exhibition, and you could barely move around to see his work. There was an excellent renao there, a buzzing excitement. Some of Mac’s friends were carrying out what looked to be a slide show about launching a massive PR campaign.
Mac, clad in some of his favorite travel clothes – signature hat, palm-treed shorts and t-shirt signed by maybe 100 people – saw me over the table of snacks and came over. He’d been so busy putting together a presentation he’d decided to stop and enjoy himself instead. An ‘anonymous patron’ is funding his trip to China, to go there for a few weeks and take photos at the end of this month, he said. As for actually selling his work at this show, he hadn’t had time to arrange that!
When he actually took the mike, he decided to scrap his prepared presentation “since it was too much like school” and wing it. He’d quit his job, he said, three years ago, to go on the road, and hadn’t looked back. “Like 10 or 20 or 30 of you, I didn’t want to live the rest of my life in a box,” he said. He thanked TED, the warm hospitality of the Taiwanese people, extolled the virtues of travel and many other things in such a rapid-fire fashion that his translator found it nearly impossible to summarize.
I came to see Mac’s work on the Taiwan Streets. It’s a pet project idea that has been near and dear to my own heart – photographing the young hipsters in Hsimenting District. Alas, this series was not a part of the show, although a preview of them can be seen here [Ed. link no longer functioning 2015/01/13]. And I’ve requested that when he returns from China he put together another show dedicated to this topic – next time at a larger venue. Something tells me his entourage of supporters are ready and willing – lucky chap.
LOCATION3+2 DesignStudio – 台北市紹興北街31巷17號1樓 (善導寺六號出口旁) (Exit 6 -Shandao Temple) 1F., No.17, Ln. 31, Shaoxing N. St., Zhongzheng District, Taipei.
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 18:00
Sat.-Sun. 10:30 – 20:00