《記憶編碼：台南》，是2012年夏天我所蒐集到的23個故事。這些故事發生在台南，但這不只是台南的故事。

 

這些故事都和食物有關，但他們所講的也不只是所謂的美食。這些故事說的是在這座城市裡發生的日常生活，包括人對於地方的情感聯繫、對於記憶的詮釋與想像、對於城市發展的觀察和註解。

 

在這件創作計劃中，我以在地居民的心理為出發點，結合心理地理學 (Psychogeography)、實驗性文本和策略性的攝影創作，透過遊戲的方式與在地人互動，探索在城市公共意象之外所蘊含的隱喻和城市想望 (Urban Imaginary)。

 

 

關於城市的靈魂  

 

跟朋友說我要來台南渡過這個夏天，對方的第一個反應通常是：「那妳吃了什麼？」「在＿＿路和＿＿路上的＿＿超好吃的妳一定要去吃」「那間＿＿不好吃啦，你要去＿＿路上的＿＿才好吃」「吃好吃的要問老台南人、妳們在網路上看到那些都不好吃」「我知道有一間＿＿很好吃，那老闆都不接受媒體採訪， 怕味道會變」「台南真的好吃的妳在網路找不到啦！」「台南喔，妳一定會變胖。」  

 

我對台南這座古都的認識，是從「食物」開始。說起來有點不好意思，在台南待了半個月，我其實還沒進入孔廟、還沒拜訪赤崁樓和安平古堡；不過哩，我已經吃了好幾次在保安路上有帥老闆的香腸熟肉、附近要等好久有好幾種不同種類芒果堆成的芒果冰、點菜大姐取笑我邊吃東西還要邊顧車的鹹粥、老闆娘很溫柔都讓我亂停車的牛肉湯、還有在騎樓下有一隻會咬人的狗和三隻雞的麻醬麵。  

 

我相信這半個月來的「戰利品」，對許多台南人或了解台南的人來說是不到位的。因為，大家總能說出「啊，妳應該去吃＿＿，那才好吃」。

究竟什麼是「好吃」呢？「好吃 / delicious」的希臘文是「nostimo(νόστιμο)」，而Nostimo的字源是Nostos，其中含義即為對「家/故鄉/家屋」的愛。當我們仔細去思考關於「好吃」的時候，我們可能獲得主觀的回答、無法被解釋清楚的情緒感受，而這些答案所隱射的是對生活的詮釋與認同。「食物」構築了台南這座城市的面貌，而這鮮明的公共意象是由怎樣的元素聚合形成呢？ 我們如何從這樣的外在特質窺見這座城市的內在性格？

 

 

城市意象的解碼

充滿細節的旅遊指南和地圖，提供的是一種「被編碼過的」城市意象，理所當然地告訴我們「應該如何」與每座城市建立關係：去巴黎看鐵塔吃馬卡龍、去巴塞隆納看高地吃tapas、去東京逛藥妝店吃壽司、去香港吃東西買東西、去倫敦看衛兵可是東西不好吃...這些指標提供規格化的秩序，構成當代人的旅遊經驗。

然而這樣的「旅遊經驗」並非「經歷」。所謂經歷，是藉由旅行的移動喚起身體對陌生環境的敏感，是一趟人心內在思想情感上的冒險。為了讓自己以現象學的態度進入城市空間，藉由創作過程建立身體的經歷，我開始在台南這座城市徒步漫遊。

遊戲規則如下：

 

• 訪問台南在地人：(1) 對你/妳來說，和「記憶」最相關的台南食物是什麼？ (2) 請描述所謂「台南人」的模樣？

• 請參與者畫一份地圖

• 依循地圖漫遊行走。參與者所分享的故事將城市空間劃下各式時空切面，而我則透過攝影的方式，觀看他人記憶裡的「台南」

• 依照參與者對於「台南人」的描述，在路上隨機找到下一位「在地人」，以接龍的方式繼續這趟城市晃遊

 

 

攝影：城市想望(Urban Imaginary）的編碼

這件計畫進行約兩個月的時間，我遵守上述的遊戲規則，收集不同在地人關於食物的記憶。在攝影媒材的選擇上，刻意使用「針孔相機」和「過期底片」進行拍攝，每段路線的拍攝長度為「一捲120 底片」。換句話說，我每天在路上隨機找陌生人聊天，聊他/她對於台南食物的記憶，依據地圖邊散步漫遊尋找這些故事的線索，再透過攝影的過程來「經驗」他人的記憶……

當一捲底片拍完了，我也就結束這天的旅行。

相機器材的選擇，決定了在旅行過程中如何和眼前的所見互動；這就好比戴上耳機聽音樂，不同的音樂類型會將四周空氣染上不同色彩和味道。相較於數位相機可以「隨拍隨看」的立即性，「針孔相機」和「過期底片」在整個創作過程中，所帶出的是一種「內部」的投射。由於沒辦法事先預料影像結果，這些策略性安排的「機會」和「偶然」反倒開啟了想像的大門，迫使自己放棄熟悉的影像語言和秩序，使身體知覺向陌生環境開放。模糊的視覺影像所提供的是意識流般混屯的樣貌，因為沒有任何明確的信息或答案，影像得以多重解讀，讓觀者用自己的想像填補其中的空白與縫隙。

重點不在於影像的具體內容，而是觀察這座城市意象的過程。如同「美食」，重點不在每種食物的材料和烹煮方法，而是這些食物留給每個人什麼樣的記憶；如同「記憶」，重點不在記憶的真實或完整性，而在於每次回溯記憶時所帶來那種無以名狀的溫暖與熟悉。這23個故事和這些陌生在地人畫出的地圖出現許多偶然與巧合，是自發萌生的心理地形概念。也就是這些日常生活般的枝微末節，才有足夠的份量建構出該城市獨特的公共意象，呈現屬於這座城市的靈魂與純正性 (authenticity)。

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Encoding Memories: Tainan is made up of 23 stories I collected in the summer of 2012.

Although these stories took place in Tainan, they are in fact not just stories about Tainan; although these stories are about food, they are not merely just talking about food. They are stories that take place every day in this city that tells of the emotional connections of the people to it, their interpretation and imagination of their memories as well as their observations and annotations of the city’s development.

 

The psychology of the local residents was topmost on my mind as I embarked on this project. Through the application of the concept of psychogeography, experimental text and strategic photography and by adopting a game-like mode of interaction with the locals, I explored the metaphors and urban imaginary that could exist beyond the public imagery of the city.

The Soul of a City

When my friends learnt of my plans to spend the summer in Tainan, their first reactions were: “So what did you eat?”, “You’ve got to try the xx along xx street and xx street – it’s incredibly good”, “That xx is not good. The xx on xx street is better”, “You should check with Tainan folks on what’s good. The stuff talked about online are not nice”, “I know this shop - xx – it’s delicious. But the owner doesn’t entertain reporters because he’s afraid the quality of his food would suffer”, “You can’t find information online about what’s really good in Tainan”, “Tainan! You’ll put on weight.”

I came to know Tainan through its “food”. I’m a little embarrassed to admit this but in my two-week stay in Tainan, I have yet to step into Tainan landmarks like the Confucius Temple, Chihkan Tower or Anping Fort. However, I have eaten, on quite a few occasions, the cold-cuts at the stall along Bao’an Road that is run by a handsome guy; the hugely popular mango shaved ice that is made up of a few types of mangoes not far from there; Taiwanese congee at a stall where the waitress would tease me as I eat while I keep a lookout for my car parked outside; beef soup where the kind proprietress would allow me to park haphazardly; of course, there is also the sesame paste noodles at a stall along an arcade with a dog that bites and three chickens.

I am most certain that my “conquest” in those two weeks are inconsequential to many native Tainan residents and people who know Tainan intimately, because they would always say: “Oh, you should have tried xx. That’s really good.”

Just how shall one define what is “delicious”? The word in Greek is “nostimo” (νόστιμο), which originates from “nostos” which embodies the love one has for one’s “home/hometown/ancestral home”. When we ponder over what’s “delicious”, the answers we often get may be subjective or involve inexplicable emotions which are in fact implications of our interpretations of life and sense of identity. The characteristics of the city of Tainan are shaped by its “food”. What are the elements that congregate to produce this distinctive public imagery? And what insights of the city’s soul could we make out from such physical appearances?

 

Decoding a City’s Imagery

Travel guides and maps are filled with details which offer “encoded” imagery of cities, serving as an authoritarian voice on “the right way” to go about establishing a relationship with the city: when in Paris, go visit the Eiffel Tower and eat macaroons; in Barcelona, see the architecture of Gaudi and eat tapas; in Tokyo, shop at the cosmetic shops and eat sushi; when in Hong Kong, shop and eat; in London, go see the changing of the guards but the food’s not any good…these are markers that provide a standardized order that has become the hallmark of the travel experience of contemporary times.

However, these “travel experiences” do not equate “experiences”. Experiences are what you get as you embark on the journey and you are physically awakened and sensitized by the strange environment. It is an adventure for the soul, the mind and the emotions. I roamed the city of Tainan to immerse myself in the space of the city armed with phenomenology as my attitude, and the desire to construct my physical experiences through my creative process.

The rules of the game are as follows:

 

• Interview native Tainan residents on: (1) the particular food of Tainan that is most closely associated with his/her “memory” (2) please describe the look of a “Tainan native”

 

• Ask the participant to draw a map

 

• Roam with the map as a guide.  The space of the city is delineated into various planes of time and space by the stories shared by the participants while I looked into their memories of “Tainan” through my camera lens

 

• Based on the description of “Tainan native” provided by the participant, the next “native” is randomly picked on the streets and I continued roaming the city in this manner

Photography: Encoding Urban Imaginary

This project took place over about two months, whereby I collated memories about food related by different natives in accordance with the above rules. The “pinhole camera” and “expired film” was deliberately chosen. Each route was covered with “a roll of 120 film”. In other words, I chatted with random strangers on the road every day. We talked about his/her memories about the food in Tainan. Then I went about in search of clues to these stories by strolling along the routes as indicated on the maps. Finally, I “experienced” these memories through my photography…

 

My travels for the day would come to an end when the roll of film is spent.

 

The choice of photographic equipment determined the manner of interaction with my subjects. It is like putting on headphones to listen to music. Different music genres would taint the air about one with different colours and flavours. Compared with the instant results of a digital camera which allows one to just “aim and shoot”, the “pinhole camera” and “expired film” acted like a form of “internal” projection in the whole creative process. As there was no way of predicting the final outcome, the strategic elements of “chance” and “by chance” actually threw the door wide open for imagination to work its magic. I was thus forced to abandon familiar elements of imagery and order in my work. I had to open up physically to the strange environment. The final hazy images showed a world that was as muddled as the stream of consciousness. Since no clear messages or answers were transmitted, the images are open for interpretation, the blanks and crevices filled in by one’s own imagination.

 

The point is not in the content but rather in the process of observing the city’s imagery. Similarly for the “food” – it’s not about the ingredients or the cooking method. Rather, it is about the memories that each person associate with it. Similarly for the “memories” – it’s not about whether they are real or complete, rather it’s about the indescribable warmth and familiarity brought on by them. Chance and coincidence abound in these 23 stories and the maps drawn by the natives whom I have just met. They are concepts of psychogeography borne out of spontaneity. It is precisely these little details that carry enough weight to construct the unique public imagery of that city, revealing its soul and authenticity.