Memories of Jiufen
Jiufen was once a goldmining boomtown, and Hu was born there during its glory days. He personally witnessed the prosperity of this small mountain community, recalling, “In those days Jiufen was the hub of the whole surrounding area. This is where all the markets were where farmers came to sell their produce, and retail shops were all here…. Three or four hogs had to be slaughtered each day just to keep up with local demand.”
Mining was dangerous work, and miners never knew if they would even be alive tomorrow to spend what they earned today. Not surprisingly, they were free spenders, and the town had every kind of entertainment establishment of that era—pool halls, a movie theater, restaurants, taverns….
Jiufen attracted gold prospectors from all over. Those who struck it rich built themselves two- or three-story concrete Western-style houses, while newcomers had to get by with makeshift shelters made from straw to protect themselves against the wind and rain. Sometimes you could even see both extremes on opposite sides of the same street. It is details like these in Hu’s works that really bring to life at one glance the heady days of yesteryear.
In his creations Hu also captures the charming simplicity of the norms and daily customs of those days. One work, entitled Carrying Seats to Attend a Banquet, vividly illustrates how neighbors would contribute chairs from their own households whenever there was some large catered event like a wedding. The town is small and compact, so homes have only very limited space, and as a result no one had enough furniture for larger gatherings. The work portrays parents shouldering benches and leading their children along, heading off to attend the scheduled start of the festivities.
Since Jiufen rests against a steep slope, the houses are literally piled one on top of the other, and often one man’s window opens onto the next man’s roof. When the weather was good and people brought their duvets out onto these roofs to air in the sunshine, it looked like a contest to see who could put on the most colorful display. The image of items such as baby’s diapers, wraps and Japanese-style attire hung out to dry on long bamboo poles is especially effective, since the metal pieces are nailed to the wood at an angle, making them appear to be blowing in the wind. These images of a simpler time are evoked in Hu’s works Airing Duvets in the Sun and The Happiness of a New Life.
Airing Duvets and Clothes in the Sun. In this work, depicting old Jiufen on a sunny day, it looks as if the lanes and alleys are decorated with flags of all nations.