Department of Rapid Transit Systems

The prize winners of the “Color Hunting MRT” color image solicitation, which was hosted by DORTS, have been announced. Lin Qiao’s “Nine and Three Quarters Platform” was the recipient of the Circular Line Color Award. “Quiet,” which was photographed by Liu Zhi-hong was selected for the Urban Color Award. Furthermore, including lists of prize winners for outstanding and best selections, there were a total of 16 excellent artworks which have been announced on DORTS’ official website (https://www.dorts.gov.taipei/) and published online (https://reurl.cc/KrzjEp). The public are welcome to take a look and enjoy them.

DORTS stated that the solicitation of artworks coincided with the pandemic, and from the promotion and selection to the subsequent awards, everything was carried out online and remotely. During the solicitation of artworks, the public were requested to download the image materials provided by the organizer and upload their artworks after post-production from which their bold imagination and creativity can be viewed. DORTS would like to thank everyone who participated in the solicitation of artworks, using natural image creations and colors to tell urban stories which enable the public to feel the subtle variations in urban life.

DORTS explained that the solicitation period for the event was from October 4 to October 31, and a total of 69 artworks which met the qualification criteria were entered into the judging process. DORTS stated that former Taipei Fine Arts Museum Director Dr. Huang Hai-Ming, National Dong Hwa University Department of Art and Design Dr. Tien Ming-Chang, and the creator of this public art, Emmanuelle Moureaux, who is a French architect living in Japan, were specially invited to form a jury for the selection tasks, and following a professional and rigorous review process, they selected the outstanding artworks. For the event prizes, there was one selection for the Circular Line Color Award, one selection for the Urban Color Award, two outstanding selections, and an additional 12 selections, which comprised a total of 16 outstanding artworks.

DORTS further elaborated stating that Lin Qiao’s work “Nine and Three Quarters Platform” was the recipient of this year’s Circular line Color Award. The concept of the artwork is that people waiting on the platform have unknown destinations, and although they have walked into the same train cars, they are travelling to different spaces.  “Quiet,” which was photographed by Liu Zhi-hong, was the recipient of the Urban Color Award. The concept of the artwork is that the elevated section of the MRT merges with the urban landscape, and at the winding Xiulang Bridge section, the crossing of the tranquil Xindian River forms a soothing picture. Crossing the Xindian River is not just a return home for the passengers but also the destination of the MRT trains when they finish a day’s work.

DORTS stated that the Circular line is the first domestic MRT system for which the construction of elevated stacked stations and viaducts were utilized. Emmanuelle Moureaux, who is a French architect living in Japan planned the public art with the theme of “color” for this “smiling” route which traverses New Taipei City. Under this design, the original elevated track pier has transformed from a “grey” giant Hulk to a popular internet check-in point. The placement of color puts the new style of New Taipei City on display, which is beautiful, fashionable, and close to the people. In order to enable the public to feel the magic of this “color transformation/color illusion,” DORTS hosted the color image solicitation on the occasion of the completion of the Circular line public artworks.