NEWS
Humanities & Arts
- Publish Date：2025-06-10
Tracing the Origin: NYCU Unveils a Living Archive of the Sixth Fuel Factory
The Sixth Fuel Factory Documenta 2025: Tracing the Origin of the Sixth Fuel Factory along the Touqian River
Edited by Chance Lai
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In a powerful convergence of history, ecology, and contemporary art, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) has unveiled its latest cultural milestone: “The Sixth Fuel Factory Documenta 2025: Tracing the Origin of the Sixth Fuel Factory along the Touqian River”. The exhibition, hosted at the Haoran Library’s Arts Space, explores the layered memory-scape of the WWII-era Sixth Fuel Factory through archival research, artistic collaboration, and environmental storytelling.
A Curatorial Vision Anchored in ‘Tracing the Origin’
At the heart of the exhibition is the concept of Tracing the Origin—a metaphor for the movements of people, memories, and landscapes. The curatorial team, led by Director Wen-Shu Lai of NYCU’s Graduate Institute of Applied Arts, maps a story arc that spans wartime industrialization to post-war transformation, from local village life to transnational memory politics.
The Sixth Fuel Factory, once a strategic aviation fuel plant built in Hsinchu’s Chituqi during World War II, stood at the nexus of natural gas from Zhudong and the waters of the Touqian River. The site bears witness to Taiwan’s modernization journey and geopolitical shifts across the 20th century.
A Curatorial Vision Anchored in ‘Tracing the Origin’
At the heart of the exhibition is the concept of Tracing the Origin—a metaphor for the movements of people, memories, and landscapes. The curatorial team, led by Director Wen-Shu Lai of NYCU’s Graduate Institute of Applied Arts, maps a story arc that spans wartime industrialization to post-war transformation, from local village life to transnational memory politics.
The Sixth Fuel Factory, once a strategic aviation fuel plant built in Hsinchu’s Chituqi during World War II, stood at the nexus of natural gas from Zhudong and the waters of the Touqian River. The site bears witness to Taiwan’s modernization journey and geopolitical shifts across the 20th century.
Original architectural components from the Japanese colonial and military dependents’ village periods of Hsinchu’s Sixth Fuel Factory on display.
Professor Lai underscores the exhibition’s triple lens: “Sixth Fuel Factory of Hsinchu, Sixth Fuel Factory of Taiwan, and Sixth Fuel Factory of Asia,” drawing connections across local, national, and regional histories. The result is a collective reimagining of place, memory, and agency.
Exhibition Highlights: From Reading Rooms to River Echoes
🔹 Reading Room
A tranquil open-access library that invites visitors to dive into research publications, special issues, and children’s books, forming the scholarly bedrock of the curatorial narrative.
🔹 Main Exhibition (1F)
Through documentary footage, historical timelines, maps, and architectural models, the first-floor gallery interweaves the legacy of the Sixth Fuel Factory with three major conflicts: the Pacific War, the Chinese Civil War, and the Cold War.
🔹 Art & Action Zone (2F)
Field-based art installations bring the Touqian River to life, featuring GIS storytelling, soundscapes, computational art, and community-based collaborations. Together, they evoke a deeply rooted connection between people, place, and memory.
A collaborative GIS story map project by NYCU’s applied arts graduate and undergraduate students.
Interdisciplinary Showcase
Touqian Sound Rest Stop, a sound installation by artist AK KAN Hei Chun, presents the multilayered acoustic landscape of the Touqian River.
Opening Performance featured a moving performance titled “Embodied History, Living Archive” by artist Yu-Hsien WU (吳郁嫻). Blending movement, image, and artifacts, Wu transforms static archives into living, breathing memory acts.
More than 30 creators—including the Sixth Fuel Factory team, architect Ya-Ping Lin (林雅萍), and artists Zara Huang (黃子翎), AK KAN Hei Chun (簡僖進)—contributed across diverse formats: documentary, sound installation, paintings, field publications, and digital media. Their works reflect a collective effort to rebuild symbiotic systems of memory and life through interdisciplinary action.
Not Just an Exhibition: A Homecoming through History
NYCU invites students, faculty, and the public to step into the Haoran Library B1 Arts Space and embark on this immersive journey along the Touqian River. Trace the echo of war, industry, and kinship. Reconnect with the land. Reimagine the past. This is not just an exhibition—it’s a homecoming through history.
Visitor Information
- Exhibition Dates: June 2 (Mon) – July 19 (Sat), 2025
- Opening Hours: Mon–Fri 10:30–18:30 ｜ Sat 10:30–16:30 (Closed on Sundays and public holidays)
- Venue: Haoran Library B1 Art Space, NYCU Chiaotung Campus, No. 1001, University Road, Hsinchu City
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