Father's Video Tapes

Father’s Video Tapes is originated from photographer Yang Teng-chi’s recollection of his accidental discovery of his father’s sex tapes of him and another male friend of his one time when he sneaked in his father’s bedroom during his adolescence. This led to an unexpected understanding of his own father’s sexual orientation and his life as a closeted man.

Father’s Video Tapes is a set of conversations that spans some twenty years. Making the best of the VR technology, we hope to recreate two narratives from the two respective points of view of the father and the son. From the son’s peculiar angle, the viewers are ushered into the closet of his father, where they will unveil the father’s long-hidden secrets. When finally stepping out of the closet into 21st-century Taiwan, the father will be stripped of his authority, and gladly recognize the footing of his gay son.

It is a three-part narrative that brings the viewers from real space to VR spaces and back, giving the audience an immersive experience through bodily interactivity. It speaks to the LGBTQ+ community forgotten by history in Taiwan, drawing a comparison between the gay people living today and those who suffered and struggled in the past.