Super Iron Man! Recreating the look of Daxi

Any mention of Daxi and most people immediately think of the town’s quaint old street and Daxi’s mouthwatering dried tofu. Most visitors to Daxi stop in the sightseeing area to the east of Dahan River and the more developed city center. Few people are aware that the Taiwanese government launched a 10-year policy in the sixties, which transformed Daxi into a boomtown and major exporter of steel.

In the 1970s, after graduating from elementary school, steel artist Cai Wu-xiong (蔡武雄), left Nantou Zhushan for the North and got a job in a steel factory thanks to his cousin’s introduction. On retirement from the factory, Cai Wu-xiong began creating art with steel. Cai Wuxiong’s son, Cai Yi-xun (蔡奕勳), realized that his father’s series of creations were closely related to Taoyuan’s culture and presented a visual timeline of the area. He decided to hold activities centered around his father and the steel industry, exhibiting his father’s artwork from recent years. He hopes the events will familiarize locals and outsiders alike with Daxi’s old industries and keep the local history alive.

以下為中文對照

一提到大溪，多數人立即想到的是古色古香的老街，與讓人垂涎的大溪豆干，有關於大溪的記憶，大多停留在位於大漢溪以東、行政發展中心的觀光路線。然而許多人不知道，民國六〇年代，隨著政府十年建設新政策的展開，大溪成為鋼鐵產業的加工出口重鎮，也因其而繁盛一時。

鋼鐵素人藝術家蔡武雄，國小畢業後為了尋求更好的生活，由南投竹山北上，經由表兄的介紹，一九七〇年代進入位在大溪的鋼鐵廠工作，退休後便投入鋼鐵藝術創作。蔡武雄的兒子蔡奕勳，看見父親一系列代表時代與桃園文化息息相關的創作，便決定為自己的父親與鋼鐵產業舉行相關活動，展出父親近年作品，希望在地民眾與更多人，了解位處於大溪市中心邊緣地方的產業過往，藉此連結在地民眾與當地歷史。