蔡咅璟

標本攝影術

Specimen Photography

 2024

Dual channel video and Installation Dimension variable

這件作品源⾃於在做這⼀系列創作時，⾝為創作者必須做很多關於這些標本與博物館的研究，然⽽在研究這些標本時發現這些標本所留下來的⽂獻非常匱乏，甚⾄連基本的標本的標籤幾乎都遺失了，⽽在研究過程中剛好發現⼈類學家宮本延⼈曾於1934年在當時臺博館（總督府博物館）出版的期刊《科學の臺灣》中發表⼀篇〈標本寫真撮影の⼆三〉的⽂章，這篇⽂章主要介紹宮本延⼈⾃⼰如何拍攝標本，並將他⾃⼰的經驗書寫成⼀篇技術⼿冊，鑑於這些標本之「過去」的匱乏，因此我便依照〈標本寫真撮影の⼆三〉所使⽤的⽅式重新幫祂們拍標本照，我們先在數位空間中搭建了⼀個參照宮本延⼈建議的攝影棚，並利⽤實體空間的蛇腹相機以宮本延⼈當時所使⽤玻璃乾版拍攝數位介⾯中的標本，同時邀請祂們以共作的⽅式，使⽤幫祂們建立好的3D模型，透過溝通師與動畫師的協助，讓祂們⾃⾏決定以何種姿態被拍攝，藉由這樣的⽅式重新幫這些標本拍攝檔案照，試圖填補祂們佚失的紀錄，並在這之中扭轉拍攝者與被攝者之間的權⼒關係以及影像作為復返歷史的可能性與想像。

This artwork originates from the extensive research I had to undertake as an artist working on this series, focusing on specimens and museums. However, during the research process, I discovered that the documentation left behind regarding these specimens is extremely scarce. In fact, even the basic specimen labels were often missing. While delving into this topic, I came across an article written by anthropologist Miyamoto Nobuto in 1934, published in the journal Science of Taiwan (Kagaku no Taiwan) by the then Taiwan Governor-General's Museum (Taihoku Imperial Museum). The article, titled "A Few Notes on Specimen Photography", primarily describes Miyamoto's approach to photographing specimens, presenting his experiences in the form of a technical manual. Given the lack of "past" documentation for these specimens, I decided to follow the methods described in "A Few Notes on Specimen Photography" to re-photograph them in a manner inspired by his techniques. We built a digital photo studio based on Miyamoto Nobuto’s instructions, using a physical folding camera with the same dry glass plates to photograph the specimens in a digital interface. At the same time, we invited them to collaborate by using the 3D models we created for them. With the help of a medium and an animator, they were able to decide their own poses for the photographs. In this way we attempted to rephotograph these specimens and fill the gaps of their lost records, while also reversing the power dynamics between the photographer and the subject, and exploring the possibilities of using images to revisit and imagine history.