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The visual diary of @jbyuan

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by @jbyshoots

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9 months ago

by @jbyshoots

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9 months ago

“I like it when one is not certain what one sees. When we do not know why the photographer has taken a picture and when we do not know why we are looking at it, all of a sudden we discover something that we start seeing. I like this confusion.” - Saul Leiter by @jbyshoots

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a year ago

by @jbyshoots

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a year ago

Checking up on Kerouac’s California with a band of merry dirtbags | Sonoma, May ‘25 by @jbyshoots

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a year ago

Krabi, Oct ‘25 by @jbyshoots

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a year ago

The aftermath from the previous night’s festivities is revealed at dawn. The marchers are shattered, some strewn about the streets and alleyways, sleeping where they can. Still, the fireworks roar on in preparation for the event’s finale. One by one, the processions line up outside the main temple to await their turn to bring Mazu home for a final prayer.

This event is many things: a three-day test of endurance for the righteous, an excuse to party and flex for the mafias, fun for the families and spectators, a trip to the hospital for the unfortunate, and a sight to behold that’s become an annual tradition for me. | Beigang, Apr. ’25 by @jbyshoots

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a year ago

Late into the night, the event takes on a more solemn tone. Once the tourists go home and the parties wind down, the focus shifts to the marchers. They walk in clumped masses, surrounding Mazu altars. These altars are carried in palanquins, many of which are shouldered by the reverent, walking for countless kilometers through the night to beat of drums. By then end of the event, the worshippers and altars alike are stained black with soot from the firecrackers they walk over to attain blessings from the spirits. | Beigang, Apr. ’25 by @jbyshoots

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a year ago

The event is impressively self-governed. Police are few and far between. Fire and EMS are nowhere to be found. But things remain orderly, thanks in part to the unofficial conductors who efficiently run affairs, directing traffic and clearing walkways by bulldozing firework detritus into mounds that quickly become mountains.

In an era where most events in the west are safety-conscious due to insurance, liability, and violence, there’s refreshingly little risk-aversion here, allowing for minimal red tape (and maximal fun). | Beigang, Apr. ‘25 by @jbyshoots

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a year ago

This event would be impossible almost anywhere else in the world. There’s apparently no fire marshall in Beigang, because a party with this level of inherent danger would be immediately shut down anywhere else. The fireworks are stacked in mounds waist high and ignite shockingly fast. Thick mushroom clouds of grey smoke fill the air. Even with earplugs, the roar is deafening.

There are so many questions: How many ER admissions happen every year? How much long-term hearing loss? How many millions of firecrackers are set off, and who is paying for it all?

The answer to the last question is a colorful one. There are dozens of pyrotechnic stations across the marching route, each of which is sponsored by a local “association,” which may or may not be involved in organized crime. These same groups also sponsor the party tents, the DJs, and the go-go dancers, much to the chagrin of some devout believers. At the same time, the event wouldn’t be what it is without the mafia influence, underscoring the inseparable relationship between spirtuality and crime in Taiwan. | Beigang, April ‘25 by @jbyshoots

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a year ago

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a year ago

An incredible range of people show up for Mazu’s birthday. I don’t know if it’s the costumes, festival atmosphere, the southern sun, or the mildly narcotic betel nut that people chew down here, but man are there some photogenic characters about.

It’s not just the people that are immaculate, but the vibes too. I stumbled into this event last year at the suggestion of a local friend, and it feels like hitting on a rich vein of Taiwan’s essence. It has a distinct feel of the south, and makes me lament the modern and globalized influences in Taipei that dilute the spirit very much alive in Beigang. Events like Chinese New Year feel increasingly soulless in Taipei, but here in the south? Custom, culture, and charisma thrive on. | 北港, April ‘25 by @jbyshoots

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a year ago