From fish trap to installation: The bamboo weaving wonders of Cheng-Tsung Feng
Guest edited by Corinne Julius
“So usually I'm catching people as fish,” explains Cheng Tsung Feng, of his bamboo and rattan installations, based on traditional Taiwanese fish traps. “We follow traditional fishermen sometimes they will make very big (fish traps,) and sometimes they will be very small. The material will change. It depends on the different kinds of river and different kinds of fish.” Feng likes to apply this principle to his installations, seeing each location like a river “I see the architecture as a river. So what kind of fish trap do we need to create for this kind of river and what kind of fish I'm going to catch in it?”
Image: Fish Trap House, Cheng Tsung Feng. Image above: Fish Trap House IV Houli.
In this case ‘the river’ is the Coronet Theatre in Notting Hill London, where as part of the Taiwan Festival, London’s first major celebration of Taiwanese contemporary arts and culture, he has created 3 installations. Outside hovering above the facade is a series of rings of bamboo and rattan, inside the rotunda of the foyer, is a huge circular fish trap that visitors can wander around and back stage is a cascade of bamboo strips, inside which are displayed models of many of Feng’s fish trap houses.
All his work depends on a deep understanding of specific traditional crafts. He strives to investigate the taken-for-granted but it’s not just a modern twist he hopes to impart. His intention is to convey cultural messages and forgotten stories. Whilst he adapts traditional methods he is no Luddite, combining historical methods with modern technological processes.
“So usually I'm catching people as fish,” explains Cheng Tsung Feng, of his bamboo and rattan installations, based on traditional Taiwanese fish traps. “We follow traditional fishermen sometimes they will make very big (fish traps,) and sometimes they will be very small. The material will change. It depends on the different kinds of river and different kinds of fish.” Feng likes to apply this principle to his installations, seeing each location like a river “I see the architecture as a river. So what kind of fish trap do we need to create for this kind of river and what kind of fish I'm going to catch in it?”
In this case ‘the river’ is the Coronet Theatre in Notting Hill London, where as part of the Taiwan Festival, London’s first major celebration of Taiwanese contemporary arts and culture, he has created 3 installations. Outside hovering above the facade is a series of rings of bamboo and rattan, inside the rotunda of the foyer, is a huge circular fish trap that visitors can wander around and back stage is a cascade of bamboo strips, inside which are displayed models of many of Feng’s fish trap houses.
All his work depends on a deep understanding of specific traditional crafts. He strives to investigate the taken-for-granted but it’s not just a modern twist he hopes to impart. His intention is to convey cultural messages and forgotten stories. Whilst he adapts traditional methods he is no Luddite, combining historical methods with modern technological processes.
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