Mr. Wu's masks, belong to man and belong to ghost

Something about Jiufen town

I came to Jiufen (九份) in a heavy rain, wetting sky seems want to keep wandering visitors stay in nice little coffee shop next to the road snakes along the mountain slopes. Funny name of this town comes from an ancient story, the village only have nine households living isolation in the high mountains, the village has always request "nine portions" every time shipments arrived from town. Later Kau-hun (meaning "nine portions" in Hokkien) become the name of the village.

Frankly to say, landscape or architecture here nothing really outstanding, most houses built of concrete, while the architecture is poor, not follow a typical style at all. If you want to Taiwan for travel, I recommend you spend the money to go to other countries, the Japanese pulled together here to remind them about their proud for the heroic past of a ruler nation that they impose on this island. Other people also come here may listen to rumours of the majority on the net.

I go to Jiufen because of the museum that is introduced as a very scary place on the internet; it is the ghost's masks museum of Mr Wu. Came here, I knew that this is not a ghost museum, this is the world of human beings are being revived through a lifetime of thoughts and hard working of sculptor Wu.

My face between marsks of Mr. Wu

Mr. Wu and his masks museum

Climb up the slope of the road Shuqi you will easily caught his house located right on the landing. These masks with grotesque shapes will strike you, would have scared people, and would have enjoyed people but me sure everybody have the intention of curiosity, want to step inside.

In contrast to the weird face outside, you will encounter an old man with kindly face, with a bald head and a little white-haired. He has appearance of people who stop thinking of livelihood, living the rest of his life by his own creations while still young. Mr Wu was leaving the museum include many uniquely fantastic faces.

Mr. Wu signed on the back side of his mask in my collection

Those who do not understand Chinese can easily be confused about a demonic world that is hidden inside, but in fact is not the case, this is a private museum opened permanently with a humanity related bare name: Painful life mask exhibition (痛苦 人生 面具).

The advertising panels outside the museum. Large panel means Masks exhibition (展 面具). Small panel explained: Painful life mask exhibition (痛苦 人生 面具).

A person at age 80 must be experienced the ups and downs experiences of human sorrows and time. I unfortunately cannot exchange a lot with him because of the language barrier. But the deep sympathy of a passion for the mask is the language without words, he let me in the silence world of his mask, leaving the rush of outside of a noisy tourist route.

A small part in Mr. Wu masks collection

He may live his whole life with the thought of sorrow and extreme phenomena of society, these troubles reveal themselves by the irregularity faces in his imagined. Clay Man Mr. Wu (泥人 吳) is how people call him and also the name of his museum.

Mr. Wu and me under the museum name Clay Man Mr. Wu (泥人 吳)

There are more than 1500 masks fully hung on walls and walls of the room, you will be overwhelmed by the abnormal shape of distortion faces or the malformation of the eyes, nose, mouth, or the exceed amount of these parts on some faces.

Is abnormal a required part of the nature of the injuries? These ambitions beyond the normally standards will born irregularity faces, perhaps it is the philosophy of the distorted shape on the human face of Mr. Wu.

Human faces of Mr. Wu

On another wall he wrote the words "Happy Birthday", the sorrow must also be born as a creature was born. He greeted them on the journey to discover the disability of man and society through his mask.

The full of masks wall with Happy Birthday world

Hard thinking and intelligent creative, his talented hands catch the spirit of humanity through their happiness, anger, love and odious characters that have common name is desire. Desires distort and transform the human and social, make human lose him to become a ghost in an endless circle.

Belong to man and belong to ghost

There is not any specific distinction between man (人) and ghost (鬼) in his mask. Sometimes ghosts same as man but sometimes man who more resemble ghosts. For example in the picture below, Stingy ghost (小氣鬼) have a human face like than Fake face man (假面 人) mask.

Left: Stingy ghost (小氣鬼) mask and right: Fake face man (假面 人) mask.

His mask present the world of human and ghost that are still not escape disguised animals form such as Goat horns man (羊角 人) or Bird kidding ghost (玩 鳥 鬼).

Left: Goat horns man (羊角 人) and right: Bird kidding ghost (玩 鳥 鬼)

His ghost world as diverse as the world of human being, whose formal clothes called Teacher ghost, whose disloyal face called Adventure ghost (冒險 鬼), a Coward ghost (膽小鬼) have no eyes, just see his hair tumbled covered his shy red face.

Left: Teacher ghost, center: Adventure ghost (冒險 鬼), right: Coward ghost (膽小鬼) 

Ghost are Love Money (理財 鬼), become Thief (小偷 鬼) and Out of shape (變形 鬼). Perhaps the Out of shape ghost mask is the most same ghost imagines in human thinking.

Left: Love Money ghost (理財 鬼), ceter: Thief  ghost(小偷 鬼), right: Out of shape ghost (變形 鬼)

The story of Mr. Wu is not belong to ghost or man, his story is the story about the outrageous. Humans will become ghost by his own outrageous. The resonable loving but even exceed the normal level also creates suffering, a toffu addict people will create a Toffu addict ghost with the appearence coresponding with his passion, a dark man in blind always brings suffering form create a Blind man mask. Even the smoking habits of modern society will create a Smoking ghost with his mouth deformed into a circle and there are countless mouths appearing on this ghost mask.

Left: Toffu addict ghost, center: Blind man, right: Smoking ghost masks

His masks are beyond the normal concept of "external appearances have root from people mind". There are many mask show ideas than image expression. Mask named The Boss is an example: From mouth of the boss born a face, then from the mouth of this new face has born another face again. Does it mean property born from the mouth? Or mouth is the drama that related to talking business man? These expressions create such multi-dimensional thinking have a lot in his collection. There are two masks joined together in one mask. In contrast to a mask with nothing, no eyes, no nose, no mouth, whether it reminds viewers what to think?

Right: The boss mask, center: Joined face mask and right: Nothing face mask

I really do not distinguish what is man, what is ghost in his abnormal world, to define what are belongs to man and what are belong to ghost is an impossibility. In the only mask he left me; because he cannot refuse my passion on his mask; the mask was named Brave man (大膽 人).

Front side and back side of Brave man mask in my collection

This is a man whose face was stretched at middle part due to four stacked noses, deformed face looked like a ghost, and not same as normal description of the image of an ideal brave man. There is little expression of surprise in the raised eyebrow and upward iris. Does Mr. Vu have caught the spirit of praise for a courageous act? Who was praised although very surprised, but also expand his nose because of interesting? Well, this is part of human emotions; it is not belong to ghost.

I stood in his museum but thought as I am in World of Sense-Desires (Kama Loka) of Saha Lang (Samsara), where greed and lust ruled mind-body of living beings, where arise affliction and carnal desires. Five desires (seen, heard, smelt, tasted and touched) which living beings are unpleasant feeling in life are present here, it is clear, visible and incontrovertible. If someone asks: Is there somewhere, where people live with the bizarre extremes of man? I will not hesitate to answer that: Here, the masks museum of Mr. Wu.