A hundred-year-old steel cable of Qingquan Suspension Bridge, which is going be replaced and abandoned, will be given new life as a public artwork. Hsinchu County Magistrate Chiu Ching-chun specially turned to the world-class artist Kang Mu-xiang for the design of the artwork. It will follow the design concept of Mr. Kang's work, Unlimited Life, exhibited at Times Square in New York, becoming another work that symbolizes "rebirth". To make the artwork even more perfect, Magistrate Chiu and Mr. Kang visited Bade Minimum-Security Prison on July 3rd and decided to cooperate with 18 prisoners there. Mr. Kang demonstrated how to polish the stained cable so that the prisoners could help the preparation work. After being finished, the artwork will be installed next to Qingquan Suspension Bridge and become a new attraction in Wufeng Township.
The removed old steel cable is 1,410 meters in length and 3 centimeters in diameter. Therefore, the preparation work is quite arduous and time-consuming. Mr. Kang specially gave the 18 prisoners a pep talk. He said that only when they do the task with all their hearts and look forward to rebirth can he create a work of truthfulness, compassion and beauty.
Mr. Kang further showed that the old steel cable of Qingquan Suspension Bridge is wider in diameter than the old cables of the elevators in Taipei 101 he had utilized before. Hence, the creation process would be more challenging. He reminded the prisoners that they should be patient when doing the job in case the cable gets broken. Any hole in the cable would lead to rust and would scratch people easily. To Mr. Kang, art is more important than his own life. Mr. Kang's assistant, Kang Yu-jing, indicated that Mr. Kang's ambition is to "link the world with cables". He went to Times Square in New York in May for the ribbon cutting ceremony of his worldwide exhibition tour in America. In the future, the exhibition will be held in Turkey.
Magistrate Chiu described the 18 prisoners who get involved in the preparation work of the cable artwork as the "Eighteen Arhats". By polishing the cable, they could not only forget their worries but also find the joy of rebirth. Magistrate Chiu hoped they could enjoy the work. Superintendent Yang Fan-yan showed that the prison would give full support. He also believed that the prisoners could learn from the work and have new insights into their life.