8. Hsu Chia-Wei


Huai Mo Village, 2012
Single-channel video (colour, sound)
8 min 20 sec


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Presented by Chi-Wen

Huai Mo Village focuses on the Huai Mo Tzu Chiang House in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The founder of this house is a priest who served as a secret informer for the CIA during the Cold War period for thirty-nine years. His identity indicates the sources of this period of history and the change process. Starting from the 1980s, this region has turned into a world drug centre facing severe issues of smuggling and trafficking. Currently, there are around 70 children, most of whose parents have been killed or jailed due to drug trafficking or smuggling. Owing to the local drug problems, these kids have become orphans.

In this video work, the artist invited these children to form a filming team and jointly used the camera, sound recording equipment, lights, and other filming facilities. Children could visit the priest in person and listen to him tirelessly talk about the past of the Intelligence Bureau. The artist’s customary style is extended in this work – the people telling the stories, the people listening to the stories, the filming crew made up of orphans, with the artist standing furthest back, observing it all and exploring a complex history of this region.

Courtesy the artist, LIANG Gallery and Chi-Wen Gallery

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