Harry Yi-Jui Wu (HW): Can you tell readers of EASTS what your background is?
What did you do before becoming an artist?
Tom Rook (TR): I studied Geography at the University of Nottingham, where I learned a variety of subjects such as glaciation, climate science, and colonialism. I have always been interested in observing cities. I'm from a small town in the countryside so I'm drawn to how much and how quickly cities change. During university I focused a little more on urban change. Initially I was going to become an urban planner, and I still considered that career long after I moved to Taiwan. Before and during university I traveled a bit and worked for a time in India. I wanted to continue this after graduation so I took a teaching course with the aim of finding work overseas. I heard about Taiwan from a couple of people and it seemed a good fit. After graduation I flew there with the intention of staying a year and then returning for an urban planning masters. Of course this didn't happen and I found a career I loved here instead.
