The Green Island Human Rights Art Festival is to be held later this month, showcasing Taiwan’s history under authoritarian rule as well as current human rights issues through the works of young artists.
Titled “Listening to the Overtones of Fissures,” the exhibition’s fourth edition seeks to provide a path to understanding the White Terror period from 1949 to 1992, event head curator Tsai Ming-jiun (蔡明君) said.
The White Terror era refers to the suppression of political dissidents following the 228 Incident, an uprising that was sparked on Feb. 27, 1947, which was brutally suppressed by the then-Chinese Nationalist Pary (KMT) regime. The government subsequently imposed martial law, which was lifted on July 15, 1987.
Photo: CNA
Tsai, who is also an assistant professor of fine arts at Tunghai University in Taichung, said the human rights exhibition, which is to be held on Green Island (綠島), would explore the island’s cultural landscape while touching on human rights issues in Taiwan and other Asian countries.
As the exhibition shows work from 22 groups of artists, the majority of whom are women and under the age of 40, she said she hopes that the exhibition will appeal to more people from younger generations.
Visitors to the exhibition, which starts on Wednesday next week and lasts through Sept. 17 at the Green Island White Terror Memorial Park, are encouraged to reflect upon the relationship between history and the world they live in, she added.
The park was once a prison where thousands of political prisoners were subject to hard labor and ideological re-education from the 1950s until the late 1980s, the National Human Rights Museum said.
This year’s exhibition includes 15 newly commissioned works, including National Award for Arts recipient Wu Ma-li’s (吳瑪俐) installation inspired by a letter written in blood by political prisoner Kao Tsau (高草) before she was executed in 1952 at the age of 26.
Vietnamese conceptual artist Nguyen Phuong Linh and Philippine visual artist Leeroy New have also spent days and weeks on Green Island to create new works for the exhibition.
Nguyen created a magical realism-style video, titled The Monument — The Playground — The Island, about her discoveries on the island, while New’s installation Vessel/Village consists of seven vessels made of bamboo and coastal waste collected locally.
Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) applauded the involvement of young artists in the exhibition, saying that knowledge of the White Terror era in Taiwan should be passed on down the generations in different communities.
He also said he hopes the exhibition will attract tourists who travel to Green Island in summer, developing greater understanding of the White Terror period.
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