Other Worlds

The “space ship” mythology through which I tell myself the story of my move to Taiwan works on several levels. It first describes the solitude and confinement of the hotel room in which I spent the 15 days of my quarantine. But it also describes my relationship to the world around me, which I watched day in day out from far away but was not able to interact with. This outer world indeed felt like a different world. Its buildings were taller, the architecture different, signs in a different language, and everything else equally strange. My perspective on all this strengthened this effect, living in the 20th-or-something floor, it was hard to see individuals instead of just masses.

I took this image at night, when the feeling of strangeness was usually at its peak while I saw my yet-unknown new life slowly unfold behind the window glass. Compared to the European life soaked in centuries of history in Berlin, Taipei felt exciting and new. This contrast was heightened as it was my first time in Asia – after the pristine tourist beaches in Thailand and a short stint in Bangkok, that is.

The image is quite chaotic, more geometric in its composition than anything else. As I tried to capture the feeling of a world that was still alien to me, the again-cinematic edit works well for me.