Becoming・Taiwanese

Becoming・Taiwanese by Liang-Pin Tsao is a deeply reflective photobook that examines Taiwan’s layered identity through memory, ritual, architecture, and political history. Blending contemporary photography with archival postcards, vernacular imagery, and historical documents, the publication unfolds as both a visual inquiry and a meditation on what it means to become Taiwanese within a landscape shaped by colonialism, displacement, and contested narratives.

At the heart of the work are two interconnected series Imaginarium and As Ritual. Through photographs of Martyrs’ Shrines across Taiwan, many of which were formerly Japanese shrines, He explores spaces suspended between mourning and nationalism, spirituality and state power. In parallel, his performative gestures within these architectures become quiet acts of confrontation and release, reflecting on the invisible ways power disciplines memory, bodies, and belonging.

What makes Becoming・Taiwanese especially compelling is its ability to move beyond documentation. The book operates as an object of historical tension, folding together personal memory, collective trauma, and institutional narratives into a carefully sequenced experience. The use of archival materials alongside contemporary photographs creates a layered dialogue between past and present, asking readers not simply to remember history, but to reconsider how history continues to shape identity today.

For collectors and readers interested in contemporary Asian photography, photobooks on memory and postcolonial identity, or works that challenge the relationship between image and nationhood, this publication stands out as an important and timely contribution. It is both intellectually rigorous and emotionally restrained, a photobook that rewards slow reading and repeated return.

Published by AKAAKA, Becoming・Taiwanese also marks a significant milestone in Taiwanese photobook culture. Liang-Pin Tsao, founder of the Lightbox Photo Library and initiator of the Taiwan International Photography Festival, has long contributed to the preservation and development of Taiwanese photography. This publication reflects that same depth of care, criticality, and cultural consciousness.

More than a photobook, Becoming・Taiwanese is a quiet but powerful reflection on how nations, memories, and identities are constructed and how photography can become a space to question them.

《Becoming・Taiwanese》是曹良賓對台灣身份、歷史記憶與國族敘事的一次深刻凝視。作品結合當代攝影、歷史檔案、老照片與身體行為，重新觀看台灣各地的忠烈祠 —— 這些建立於舊神社遺址上的空間，承載著殖民、威權與民主之間複雜而矛盾的歷史痕跡。

書中收錄《Imaginarium》與《As Ritual》兩個系列，透過影像與儀式性的行動，探問記憶如何被建構、身體如何被規訓，以及「成為台灣人」背後未完成的歷史與情感狀態。

這不只是一本攝影書，更像是一件關於台灣歷史與身份認同的閱讀裝置。對於關注亞洲攝影、殖民歷史、當代影像實踐與攝影書文化的讀者而言，《Becoming・Taiwanese》是值得反覆閱讀與收藏的重要作品。

Language: English, Japanese & Chinese
Format: Softcover | 168 pages
Dimensions: 260 x 173mm | 480g
Publication Year: October 2025 | First Edition
ISBN: 978-4-86541-214-7