100k Books Café

Themes of this issue

100 Books Café x pon ding

Our body serves as a political medium, shaping how we see, act, and think. Our habitual ways of perception—whether looking at flowers, gazing at statues, or browsing through pages—become internalized as specific modes of viewing and visual order.

When perception becomes an ingrained system and a habitual routine in daily life, the lines between objects and their contexts begin to blur as well—as we observe, we often misperceive the objects before us. The exhibition Tony Matelli: Arrangements, through the imbalance, suspension, and misplacement of objects that place familiar things into absurd settings, evokes a sense of discomfort in perception, and questions the boundaries between viewing and existence.

This selection of books focuses on Matelli’s artistic strategies, highlighting the act of viewing, bodily experience, and free imagination filtering through systemic fissures—by arranging and reorganizing the book titles, printed books are seen as a physical medium for reconstructing worldviews, engaging the audience in breaking free from preconceptions and rearranging their positions and perspectives.

For this book selection project, 100 Books Café partners with an external organization, pon ding, which leads the curation of the book list. The selection process includes various perspectives, such as existentialism, system, structure, context, objects, the political body, and black humor. Located in a quiet alley in Taipei, pon ding is a versatile independent art and cultural space that features a bookstore, café, and exhibition area. Operated independently by Chen Yi-Chiu, who has a background in arts and cultural publishing, this collaboration brings a unique and unconventional curatorial viewpoint to 100 Books Café, further diversifying and enriching the museum’s book collection.

Country Style Curry Pork Roll NT$380

Cumin powder, Indian curry powder, shredded cheese, mixed nuts, dried cranberry, minced pork

With American coffee or classic black tea, if you need to replace other drinks, you can get a discount of 120 yuan

Pesto Shrimp Balls with Grilled Veggie Salad NT$390

Thai basil, dill, parsley, Pacific white shrimp, seasonal grilled vegetable

With American coffee or classic black tea, if you need to replace other drinks, you can get a discount of 120 yuan

Chicken Sandwich with Butter & Olive Tapenade NT$400

Unsalted butter, black olive, sous vide chicken breast, rye bread, lettuce

With American coffee or classic black tea, if you need to replace other drinks, you can get a discount of 120 yuan