The "betel-nut beauty" cultural phenomenon is one in which the bodies of young women are used to catch the interest of the consumer. As it is a public display that takes place in set times and places, it has been the cause of social concern. Betel-nut beauties are still a common sight throughout Taiwan, though, testing society's legal and moral limits.
The betel-nut stands where the beauties work, with their gaudy lights and transparent counters, exhibit a fierce and powerful aesthetic. They have a uniquely local character, and they embody the self-identity of the working class. These factors have made them one of the representative symbols of Taiwanese folk culture. The photography project "A Moment of Beauty" was an attempt to capture images of a specific group of people in a specific time and space through fieldwork in order to create a record of part of Taiwanese society at the end of the century.
The betel-nut beauties are children of a certain era in Taiwanese history. They were born amid rapid economic change, in a time when materialistic concerns prevail. Most of them think of this as a temporary job. They might sell betel nut at one stand for a while and then disappear, only to reappear later at another stand. They are symbolic of some of Taiwan's new values-young people are seduced by money and material desires, and lose sight of their own potential.
To the photographer, the seven years during which the series was photographed was a process in which the beauties went from being objects of desire to being human beings. The images in the series are iconic and not strictly "reportage." The photographer was free to capture the beauties' own sense of self as it was influenced by economic conditions.
