Listening to the Echoes of All The Flowers in ALIEN Art Centre

Sifting through old photographs and dated diary posts made me feel regretful about my present, as if my past was so wondrous that everything that’s happening in the present or shall occur in the future would be meaningless. Perhaps it is this knowing that the bygone days are, well, gone that we put those memories on a pedestal –

Credits: ALIEN Art Centre

Today, I’d like to share about a fascinating place in Kaohsiung, Taiwan – the ALIEN Art Centre. As someone who is intrigued with the concept of time, the exhibition Echoes of All the Flowers has struck a chord with me. For this, I want to thank my friend Whitney for introducing such a wonderful exhibition.

About ALIEN Art Centre

ALIEN Art Centre is a contemporary art museum featuring permanent and rotating exhibitions by artists from Taiwan and around the world.

Housed in a former military hostel from Taiwan’s Cold War era, the unique history of the site is preserved through exhibitions showcasing old photographs – offering visitors a unique experience that bridges contemporary creativity with history.

Echoes of All The Flowers Exhibition

A contemporary art exhibition documenting memories by the many talented artists, Echoes of All The Flowers explores themes of nostalgia and the search for belonging. A relaunch of the exhibition in Taipei, the exhibition is expanded in Kaohsiung’s 2022 rendition.

Is time the greatest enemy of memory?

Memories fade, distort, and resurface over time – elusive yet enduring, bitter yet sweet. The metaphorical act of sending a letter to a long-forgotten address, only to have our message returned, symbolises the perpetual distance of our present and the longing for something we can’t return to – home.

The quiet ache for familiarity –

The exhibition also explores the contrast between childhood and adulthood, the dreams and innocence of a wide-eyed child against the disillusionment and restlessness of adult life.

Back to the beginning, _ is the echo of your inner blooming

It is said that,

there is memory of the past and future in our mind

we can always meet the beginning at the end

In the imagery of blooming flowers, not all is bleak and lost.

Ultimately, the exhibition suggests a personal journey inward, that memory isn’t only about the past but about rediscovering self.

Reclaim and reconnect with our lost selves – and explore life bravely.

Through immersive artworks and atmospheric experiences, we were invited to reflect on our own timelines: the moments of childhood wonder, the chaos of adulthood, and the aching distance between who we were, who we wanted to be, and who we’ve become. Like letters sent to forgotten addresses, these memories may never return as they were, but they continue to bloom quietly within us, in fragments and petals, echoing like flowers.

By revisiting the past and embracing its poetic impermanence, Echoes of All The Flowers showcases a journey through time, loss, and self-discovery.

Can we ever truly go home, or do we carry it within us, in fragments and in bloom? Or perhaps, this is simply the meaning of life – a meandering search for home where the journey means more than the destination.