Go Down into the Water

At the Kangle Street entrance to The Spring, a painted dragon stretches across the gateway. The organizer's making video shows a painter at work beneath its green scales and fluorescent outlines, surrounded by paint cups, a light box and a folding table. The gateway marks the entrance to LONG FLOW TAINAN 攏 Hô 樂, which continues down into the plaza's water.

The Spring is a sunken public plaza opened in 2020 on the site of the demolished China-Town mall. Canals once carried boats and goods through this part of Tainan. The exhibition places seven works along the route: two around the upper entrance, five through the B1 water, bridge and adjoining rooms.

Under the bridge, LightFull Studio's Light Entropy projects a four-part sequence: the New Canal in 1926, China-Town in 1983, the structure's demolition in 2016 and the opening of The Spring in 2020. Those dates move across the concrete overhead.

Liang Lai-chang's Traces Across the City uses parts of the replica wooden vessel Taiwan Cheng Kung. Its retired mast stands upright again. Ribs, deck and sail components have been taken apart and rearranged beside the plaza's shallow water.

Farther into the B1 route, River Mist fills the space with mist, moving light and sound. Fake Fire Atelier made the work with Tispy Studio and 腦地帶聲音藝術. Mist thickens and clears around people in the water-level space while the light and sound change with it.

The route returns toward Tree of Connection, made by Fake Fire Atelier from timber removed from several buildings. The materials include roof boards from the Chiayi Agricultural Experiment Branch office, parts of the National Museum of Natural Science's Guizhou stilt-house structure, and windows from the West Zhuwei staff dormitory at National Tainan First Senior High School. They have been joined into a tree that extends from the interior toward the water.

The organizer's map names three more works along the way: Gateway of Welcome: Chinatown, Floating City, Living Shadows and Boat Gathering 100. The route ends beside talks, workshops, a reading area and the LONG FLOW shop. Fridays have free curator-led tours; Saturdays bring free artist and history talks; Sundays add paid canal walks. The market, performances, food and shop give people reasons to stay after the seven works.

Haian Road runs beside the plaza. Zhengxing Street and Shennong Street are close enough to continue on foot for dinner, a drink or another walk.