如果花蓮是一個特異的小星球,那麼,它就是各個斷層帶經常會突然破裂的小星球。1951年10月至12月的花東縱谷地震,從花蓮、玉里至台東,地震分佈一百多公里,同時引發米崙、玉里與池上三個斷層帶的爆裂與錯動。這個縱谷地震,主震加餘震共有3037次,其中735個為有感地震,4個為7級以上的大地震,造成85人死亡、200人重傷、1000多人輕傷。
如果地球是一個會經常釋放能量,因而斷層、爆裂、錯動的星球,那麼,花蓮就像其他千百個經常發生地震的板塊交界隱沒帶,花蓮其實是個星球爆裂觀測站。從地震科學角度來看,米崙斷層帶自1986年設立地震觀測站,經歷了2018、2022和2024三次規模較大的地震,觀測到與1951年類似的地震行為與斷層爆裂點,並據此更新觀測方法,設法建立地震預警系統。
地震不僅影響了建築的理念與法規,也影響了人與星球的穩定關係;地震搖撼了人群固著的棲居習慣,也彰顯著星球生態系的巨大尺度事件,將人類與多於人類的星球多物種要素,反覆藉由破裂過程提醒彼此存在的相依共活。斷層帶也是人的靈魂與星球生靈萬物激烈重逢的觀測站。山崩地裂,海嘯城塌,橋坍路斷,屋舍傾圯。所有的救援,自此重啟。
星球爆裂觀測站,也是一座心靈救援的中繼站。在本屆的跳浪藝術節展覽中,當代藝術不僅透過與地震科學團隊合作,也透過感性的放大與觸動,將星球爆裂的觀測工作,延展到人與土地、人與海洋、人與萬物在星球巨大震盪錯位後的關係重組與存在重逢。來自臺灣地震科學中心的科學家馬國鳳,同時擔任中研院地球科學研究所特聘研究員,她規畫建立的米崙斷層鑽井觀測站,為這個展覽提供了科學觀測的角度;藝術家則運用部落神話、群體寫生、數位模型、體感震盪、事件繪畫、場所攝影、環境影像、物件裝置、重畫編排、療癒劇場和詩學書寫,來銜接受創的環境與人心;八個不同的精神環境破裂縫補救援站,分別透過故事採集與書寫,透過手做工坊,重新編寫撫慰心靈與地靈的創傷,讓星球的爆裂與能量釋放,得到精神地理上的療癒與縫補,讓靈魂找到彼此重新相遇的場所,讓藝術蘊生萬物共活的嶄新能量。
Planetary Fracture Observatory: 2024 Palafang
If Hualien were a peculiar little planet, it would be one whose fault lines constantly rupture without warning. Between October and December of 1951, the Huatung Valley Earthquake spanned over 100 kilometers, affecting Hualien, Yuli, and Taitung, triggering ruptures and displacements along the Milun, Yuli, and Chishang fault lines. The main earthquake and its aftershocks totaled 3,037 occurrences, 735 of which were felt by residents, including four major quakes above magnitude 7. The disaster claimed 85 lives, severely injured 200 people, and left over 1,000 with minor injuries.
If Earth is a planet that routinely releases energy, resulting in fault line ruptures, fractures, and displacements, then Hualien, much like countless other subduction zones where earthquakes frequently occur, serves as a planetary fracture observatory. From a seismological perspective, since the establishment of the seismic observation station on the Milun Fault Zone in 1986, the area has experienced three major earthquakes in 2018, 2022, and 2024. These events revealed seismic behaviors and fault rupture points similar to those observed in 1951. Based on these findings, observation methods have been updated in an effort to develop an earthquake early warning system.
Earthquakes do more than alter architectural standards and regulations—they reshape humanity’s relationship with the planet. They disrupt the stability of our built environments, highlighting the vast scale of planetary events that transcend human experience. These ruptures underscore the interconnectedness of humans and the non-human elements that share this earth, continually reminding us through their violent upheavals of our mutual existence and dependence. Fault lines are also meeting grounds for the human souls and the living essences of the planet. Landslides, tsunamis, collapsed pathways, and crumbled homes—each catastrophe reignites the efforts of rescue and recovery.
The Planetary Fracture Observatory also serves as a station for spiritual rescue. This year’s Palafang extends beyond the collaboration between contemporary art and seismology. Through heightened emotional sensitivity, the festival explores the aftermath of planetary ruptures, delving into the reconfiguration of relationships between humans, the land, the oceans, and all living things on Earth. Led by Dr. Ma Kuo-Fong, a scientist from the Taiwan Earthquake Research Center and Distinguished Research Fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Earth Sciences, the Milun fault Drilling and All-inclusive Sensing project has provided a scientific framework for the exhibit. Artists, meanwhile, have drawn from indigenous mythologies, collective sketches, digital models, sensory simulations, event-based painting, site-specific photography, environmental video, object installations, reassembled narratives, therapeutic theater, and poetic writing to engage with the ruptures of both land and soul.
Eight distinct “stations of spiritual mending” offer healing for both human hearts and the Earth itself. Through storytelling, writing, and hands-on workshops, these stations rewrite the trauma of fractured landscapes and spirits, fostering psychological and geographical healing through the release of energy from the planet’s ruptures, facilitating the reengagement of souls with one another, and nurturing a new life force through art that sustains the shared existence of all living beings.