with taiwan’s deindustrialization through the 1990s, many structures that composed the island country’s landscape were left abandoned. these structures were not limited to factory buildings, but also included living spaces and arrangements of time and social life. a question for cultural and urban planners has been how to repurpose these structures and spaces. in keeping what has become the dominant form of governing here, what hale has called “neoliberal multiculturalism,” the transformation of these structures attempts to reevaluate them, not merely as public amenities but also as having market value. in traces of the diverse i have been interested in examining these spaces and the ways that they have been befriended, interpreted, and–yes–marketed. part of the project is to attend to spaces through sound work

a few weeks ago in huwei, i visited the sugar factory, where i made a few field recordings. at the time, i had thought of creating some piece from them to get at the feeling of abandoned spaces; however, as i worked with the material, it directed me toward the reverberation of the past within the sounds of spaces abandoned or repurposed. the following soundcloud link is where i’ve gotten so far

sugar memory karaoke