Reversi is a strategy board game for two players, played on an 8×8 uncheckered board. There are sixty-four identical game pieces called disks (often spelled "discs"), which are light on one side and dark on the other. Players take turns placing disks on the board with their assigned color facing up. During a play, any disks of the opponent's color that are in a straight line and bounded by the disk just placed and another disk of the current player's color are turned over to the current player's color. The object of the game is to have the majority of disks turned to display your color when the last playable empty square is filled.

 

Play the regular  Reversi: http://www.webgamesonline.com/reversi/

 

The 2018 “Reversi” projects were performed in Tainan (southern Taiwan) and Hualian (eastern Taiwan) and mainly followed the settings and the rules as they had been executed in the 2016 editions Taichung/Zhongxin Market (central Taiwan) and the Taipei/MOCA  (northern Taiwan), with the goal of comparing the time-space changing process among the different areas in Taiwan. In  the various editions of  “Reversi” I defined a certain map area as the range being fitted into the game board grid, with the defined areas usually including the galleries. What I am pointing out is that the decision of the range for the maps/spots is based upon my interpretations and assumptions of each area. After finishing the “Reversi” editions in Taichung and Taipei, I learned  that the reason that more and more “visitors” show up in certain areas is actually an outcome of the strategy applied to these areas within the recent decade.  This  strategy is using the cultural/creative tourism industry as  an  attraction to bring in visitors and tourists with the goal of improving the regional economy.  Interestingly enough these  emerging  cultural tourist spots and industries often utilize the urban remains and space left by the declining local industry as elements or  background settings.

 

For example take the Reversi projects I did in Taichung and Taipei. In Taichung, the high and semi-transparent ceiling of this old dying market provides a nostalgic atmosphere for the customers of the popular hipster coffee shops located inside. In Taipei, the declining auto parts selling and maintenance industry that previously bloomed on Chifeng St. (near  Taipei MOCA and once called a “black-hand/car mechanics street”), create a dramatic contrast to visitors when they stand next to the various delicate and well-polished fashion studios that are also there now. In these two examples the emerging cultural/creative tourism industries use the landscape formed by the previous declining industry as a background.

 

In the example of “Reversi Tainan/Ho-Yo edition”, the “Ho-Yo space” gallery is located in an old neighborhood in the West Central District which is the earliest officially recorded urban area to be developed by the Han Chinese, and the properties in this district still belong to old families/old money. Because of this, there are many historic sites and buildings preserved at this location and these are transformed into trendy fancy hostels through the  promotion and development of  the cultural/creative  tourism  industry.  Compared to the abundant  non-governmental capital/space and long urban-development history of  Tainan, Hualien has considerably less resources from the private sector to support its  own  cultural and creative industries. The cultural/creative industry areas in Hualien are often built on government owned property, and  the  development of the industry is limited by the local governments cultural policy and financial support. The two big cultural and creative areas are the Hualien Railway Cultural Area and the Hualien Cultural Creative Industries Park. The former is based at a previous train station and its neighborhood, and the latter is situated at a site that was previously a wine factory.  Both sites were built up during the Japanese colonial period and have belonged to the government from then to the present, and had lost their original functions long ago. This usage of government owned landmarks illustrates how lacking this city is in historical sites.

 

As an artist,  I find it interesting that each alternative space that I worked with in this series of projects was often located in this “cultural and creative industry area” or in its neighborhood (no matter whether the space itself contributes to the development of the industry or is a consequence of the industry). I tried to figure out what attracts people to visit each spot, how these traits are formed under the specific  context, and what kind of  landscape  implies the  perception behind the time/space  changing process.  Based on these interpretations, I defined the range of the game board/map, and marked out the landmarks pointing to my assumptions. In the Tainan/Ho-Yo edition, I marked out all the private cultural and creative industry related businesses which are operated in an old house, and all the historic sites in the area on the map. In the Hualien/Good Underground edition, I marked out on the map the two main cultural and creative areas, and other similar spaces based on government property or which rely on the local government at different levels.