How far can a fallen baby tooth travel?

The “Space Tooth Project” (「太空駐牙計畫」)by the Taichung Public Library is on display from now through November 29 in the Youth Reading Area of the Taichung Green Museumbrary. Inspired by artist Kuo Yi-Chen’s (郭奕臣) childhood memory of gazing at Halley’s Comet with his father in Kenting at the age of seven, the project connects baby teeth, the universe, memories, and promises into a cosmic journey spanning 75 years. Making clever use of the Green Museumbrary’s open, transparent, and fluid architectural characteristics, the exhibition transforms the space into a “Halley’s Comet orbit,” inviting children and adults alike to begin with a single baby tooth and embark on an interstellar journey through art, reading, and imagination.

The Department of Cultural Affairs said that the “Space Tooth Project” is not simply about placing artworks in an exhibition space; instead, it makes the architecture itself part of the exhibition. The circular viewing windows in the Youth Reading Area are used to create an orbit-like trajectory reminiscent of a comet in motion. As visitors move along the exhibition route, they journey from a tiny baby tooth toward the vast universe, while experiencing the passage of time and the progression of life through the flow of the space.

Artist Kuo Yi-Chen recalled that in 1986, when he was seven years old and going through the process of losing his baby teeth, he suffered from tooth decay and dental pain. His father took him to Kenting, where they waited beneath the starry sky for Halley’s Comet, which visits Earth only once every 75 years. The memory of waiting for the comet that night later became the starting point for his artwork “A Tooth Fell from the Universe,” creating an unexpected connection between a “baby tooth” and “Halley’s Comet.” Kuo Yi-Chen also made a promise with his father to “see Halley’s Comet again in 2061,” transforming a childhood memory into a lifelong promise spanning 75 years.

Upon entering the exhibition area, visitors encounter “Promise 2061,” in which an old dental treatment chair is transformed into an artificial satellite, while an old window frame becomes a solar panel. Accompanied by commemorative stamps issued around the world during Halley’s Comet’s 1986 appearance, the installation resembles a spacecraft carrying childhood memories. A spherical tent plays the picture-book animation “A Tooth Fell from the Universe,” footage tracing satellite signals carrying space memorabilia, and a documentary on the “Space Tooth Art Project,” created in collaboration with the Taichung School for the Hearing Impaired. The exhibition allows children to move from reading stories into real-world artistic creation, discovering that different sensory experiences can also become ways of exploring the universe.

The Department of Cultural Affairs added that the exhibition’s eye-catching “Cosmic Suitcases” have also become a favorite among children. Six baby-tooth-shaped suitcases are arranged along the circular reading area beside the glass curtain wall, appearing to float along Halley’s Comet’s orbit. Visitors can take a suitcase off the display and carry their own “baby-tooth luggage” around the space, then find a favorite spot in the exhibition area to read, transforming reading into an interstellar journey in which they are free to move through space.

The Taichung Public Library said that the “Space Tooth Project” turns the exhibition into a journey through the universe. After viewing the exhibition, visitors can continue their exploration by borrowing books on dental health, the mysteries of the universe, and related topics from the reading area. Children and adults are warmly invited to visit the Green Museumbrary, begin their journey with a single baby tooth, and set sail into the boundless universe of reading, art, and imagination. For more information about the exhibition and the library’s collections, please visit the official website of the Taichung Public Library.