Museum of Vancouver’s latest exhibit shares a haunting look at abandoned mosquito halls in Taiwan

by Vicki Duong on April 19th, 2024 at 1:27 PM

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The Museum of Vancouver’s upcoming exhibition, Mirage: Disuse Public Property in Taiwan by artist Yao Jui-Chung, will feature over a decade of photography exposing Taiwan’s mosquito halls.

Mosquito halls are the nickname earned by abandoned public construction projects that are now, as you may surmise, only suitable for breeding mosquitoes. Starting in the 1970s, Taiwan invested in its infrastructure, opening convention centres, sports facilities, schools, and other buildings—only to abandon them, leading to a loss of money and adding to the urban destruction of the country. These large buildings are well past the point of restoration or utilization and instead, act as a reminder of the government’s failed economic transition and waste of taxpayer money.

Jui-Chung is a Taiwanese artist and professor who, in 2010, gave his students two options: a conventional textbook and lecture-based curriculum, or participating in and investigating abandoned public projects. Choosing the latter is what sparked Mirage. There will be 150 photographs on display as part of the show.