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The Hualien earthquake on April 3, 2024, fundamentally changed the relationship we had long maintained with the land. Two or three weeks after the disaster, we came across a site where the remains of demolished buildings had been piled up. A group of friends who had all grown up, lived, and practiced as artists in Hualien began an unplanned sketching project. Carrying only paper and pencils, we visited the site at night, quietly observing the "new mountains" formed by piles of architectural debris, attempting to record the rapidly changing landscape through drawing.

It was under these circumstances that the Earthquake Sketching Group came into being. At first, we had no defined artistic agenda, nor had we considered how art should respond to disaster. We were simply driven by the impulse to witness the site firsthand, to experience it, and to leave behind a record. As the post-earthquake landscape continued to shift, we repeatedly returned to observe, draw, and document. At once survivors and observers, we relearned how to look at the familiar land we call home. These works record not only the physical transformations brought about by the earthquake, but also our own experiences as residents of Hualien confronting loss, change, and recovery.

Over the course of several months, the project consisted of six collective sketching excursions. The resulting works were presented across three venues as part of Planet Explosion Observatory at The 3rd PALAFANG Hualien Art Festival, marking the first public presentation of the project's ongoing research and artistic practice.