Beyond the Borderline- Exiles from the Native Land

Homeland indicates a territory divided by boundaries that represent the ethnic identity and the place of residing. It also serves as the place for individuals to interact or live with one another, the place where those with a collective history and set of emotions for the same native land can look for an identity and a sense of belonging. Nowadays the neoliberal system and the current global urban condition have become a prerequisite for looking at the situation in East Asia. As capital flow across borders has created an unequal economic climate, the perspectives of ethnicity and locality have gradually given ground to an economic patriotism built on desire. If looking at the situation through the invasion of territories, the merging together of economic circles, the possession of land, and gentrification, all are conforming to the division of classes from the perspective of those in power. Looking at East Asia, can ethnic and local perspectives create the path to allow us to see further?

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Exiles from the native land might be the new way to review current identity."Exiles," "gentiles," or "strangers," are all used to label those from outside of the national territory who have been forced to leave or escape from their lives in their home country. On the other hand, the wandering of "exiles" might not necessarily definitively point toward political exile, it can also be understood as a philosophy or a metaphor for not being constrained to homeland-orientated ethnic identities and aim at expanding the understanding of self and others. The self-exile of the spirit represents the possibility of re-examining the contemporary social and economic catastrophes and re-writing history. “Exiles” in this exhibition, begin an understanding of geographic space, wandering and engaging at the borders of their homeland and community, with themselves and the others, those that have been defined as dangerous and contagious objects, those excluded from the city. The practice is set on a journey for the renewed pursuit and the process of establishing a double perspective through the geography of East Asia.

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Curator ｜ Alice, Nien-pu Ko

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Artists ｜ Tetsuo Ogawa (Japan), Jun Honn Kao (Taiwan), Calligraphy Architecture Studio: Li Mo & Kong (Beijing),  Listen to the City (Korea), Sampson Wong (Hong Kong)

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Sponsors｜ National Culture and Arts Foundation, Cultural Affairs Bureau, Tainan City Government