Alternative action #1: Squats
Graffiti art is a guerrilla-style reclamation of public space. But when an artist gets tired from those guerrilla strikes, he needs a place to rest. That's why Bbrother and a group of creative-minded friends started searching for an abandoned building to squat in. After they moved in, this building that was forgotten by the city and fell into disuse found new life. But just like graffiti art, this squat too may soon disappear after the authorities move on it, and become just a fleeting, beautiful memory.
The squat came about after Bbrother got drunk one night last January at the Paris Commune coffeeshop in Taipei's Kungkuan area and decided to paint some graffiti outside. The owner got angry and dragged him off to a nearby abandoned building, saying, "If you want to paint, paint here!" Bbrother was inspired right then and there to move into the building and start working there as part of an artist squat movement.
The places they choose for squats are abandoned city buildings whose dilapidated state fleetingly provides a space with unlimited potential. They actively seek out this kind of place and then define it as a platform for action that, after being occupied, can be used for all kinds of creative activities--whatever you think of, you can do there. Some spray wild graffiti on the walls, some treat an entire room as a canvas, some start second-hand book exchanges, some hold film appreciation nights. Some get really ambitious and dream of opening coffee shops and band practice spaces or even holding an arts festival.
The squatters are mostly students with backgrounds in the arts. After moving into this kind of space, they first do a basic clean-up. Then they bring in some necessities, like generators, lights, locks, and stereos, slowly turning it into their own private workshop.
The run-down space of an abandoned building presents a refuge from the social order.