Texture & Decay #002 :
Ximending - Part 1 : Wan Nian Building
I was bored the other day, so I decided to go in the least visited streets of Ximending.
Ximending is one of the busiest spot in Taipei, and probably the most touristic.
It has everything, many clothing stores, restaurants, KTV, cinemas, bars etc... so it’s no surprise to see that many people.
If you live in Taiwan or you’ve been there then, you've probably been in Ximending and if not, you've probably seen the same photos a hundred or thousands of times.
But what is there to see in "untouristic" spots in Ximen? Mostly grime and dirt, graffiti and stickers, cigarette bud and trash, and a lot of water leaks.
These streets are narrow so to really show you what these alleys look like I had to bring a very wide angle lens with me. I shot everything with a 10mm lens and shooting that wide sometimes give a little surreal feel.
Nobody stopped me from taking any of these pictures, even though I ended up in a basement that is used for storage, some worker looked at me and didn't say anything.
I shot quite a few portraits in Ximending in the past, because it is the most diverse area in Taipei. If the background doesn't fit, you can walk 100 meters and find a completely different one that might suit your needs better.
This series will be split into different parts, because I have over 80 pictures from that day.
First destination : Wan Nian Building ( 萬年商業大樓 ), the facade has been photographed countless times, it is a popular building because it has a retro style and a neon sign that looks quite interesting at night. Yet, despite how popular it is, very few people visit the back alley.
That place isn’t lifeless with just walls covered with stickers and graffiti, a lot of people — who I believe are just people working nearby, are usually there to smoke their cigarette or having a chat.
I also decided to explore inside, to see what’s on the other floors.
That garbage room is on ground level, right before the stairwell, so it’s a space that anyone going upstairs can see. There is an opening behind, but since I’m not supposed to be there in the first place, I decided to not go.
Upstairs is where most businesses are, but there are stairs leading down and I was curious to see what’s there, if anything.
That area has cigarette butts on the stairs, I believe only people working in that building would use that space, I met one on the way down and didn’t say anything
The last room downstairs, what appears to be a storage room, it’s filled with cardboard boxes and fridges. I don’t want to meet face-to-face with anyone working there, so this was the last place I visited in that building.