Shippai ('failure' in Japanese) is a performance piece conceived for 'The Flaming Hair: Ritual for Poetry,' another showcase produced by the Against-again Troupe, of which I am a long time collaborator. This showcase focuses on 'Le Moulin Poetry Society,' one of Taiwan's first modern art group.

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'Le Moulin' was founded in Taiwan under Japanese rule. They wrote in Japanese and became largely ignored after the Republic of China took hold of the island in the aftermath of WWII, becoming an often overlooked and obscure part of Taiwan's literary heritage.

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Following their Japanese mentors, they were deeply influenced by French surrealism at the time and hoped to create a similar atmosphere of creative energy in Taiwan. These visions were strongly criticized by the realist poets of the same era, who believed in socially and locally relevant literature and saw the work of these surrealists as superficial and needlessly romantic.

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The friction between realism/localism/socialism and aestheticism/avant-garde/western-influence has been a major issue in the development of Taiwanese art even after the end of Japanese rule. It is from this observation that I developed Shippai. 

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Basically, it's just two people playing with the sounds of a tree. They savour the beauty of the tree and the creation of music, even inviting the audience to participate, just for the fun and enjoyment of aesthetic ideas, never questioning the political-correctness of it all. Soon, voices mocking the duo are heard, and trash is thrown at the performance space, thus bringing the performance to a premature end.

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