woven bamboo poles form cheng tsung feng's large-scale theatre installation in taiwan

"At the historic Wenwu Temple in Lukang, Changhua, artist Cheng Tsung Feng completes Theatre, a vast bamboo installation that reinterprets the disappearing tradition of temporary opera stages once central to Taiwanese temple festivals. Built from thousands of interlaced poles, the work stands as a contemporary architectural structure and a living reminder of a cultural form that once defined community gatherings but is now seldom seen."

"Theatre takes inspiration from bamboo stages that, until recent decades, were rapidly erected for opera performances and temple celebrations across Taiwan. Feng's structure echoes this ephemerality while translating it into an experiential space. The framework is composed of a strict vertical-horizontal grid of bamboo lengths, softened by split bamboo strips that trace sweeping arcs across the facade and ground plan."

"Visitors are invited to step inside the Taiwanese artist's installation by climbing bamboo stairways that lead to the broad central platform. Once within, they are enveloped by the transparent grid, where light filters through the slatted walls and floors, and the tactility of bamboo comes to the fore. In the daytime, the stage becomes a resting ground, a place to gather or to play."

Cheng Tsung Feng completed Theatre, a vast bamboo installation at Wenwu Temple in Lukang, Changhua, that recalls Taiwan's disappearing temporary opera stages. The structure is built from thousands of interlaced bamboo poles forming a strict vertical-horizontal grid softened by split bamboo strips that trace sweeping arcs across the facade and ground plan. Visitors climb bamboo stairways to a broad central platform where light filters through slatted walls and floors and tactile bamboo surfaces invite touch. By day the platform serves as a resting and gathering place; by night festival lamps transform it into a ceremonial space evoking traditional opera spectacle. The work frames communal memory through participatory architecture.

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