Wen-Hsuan Chang

(b.1991, ChangHua)

Wen-Hsuan Chang lives in Taichung. The artistic practice of Wen-Hsuan Chang questions the narrative structure of institutionalized history with re-readings, re-writing, and suggestions of fictional alternatives by exposing the im- plicit tension power relationship inside history narratives. Through versatile platforms including installations, videos, and lectures, she often navigates skewed documentations and first-person accounts to trigger reflections on how the understanding of history affects the purport of the present and thrust of the future.

Ke Nan, means to overcome difficulties, to build something with nothing. The film addresses the living situation an- chored by Ke Nan of political prisoners on the Fire Island(a small volcanic island about 33 km (21 mi) off the eastern coast of the main island of Taiwan), who created different objects as clues of their memory while being prisoned on the island. These objects are haunted by their ambiguity as art pieces or historical archives.

By selecting five objects created by political prisoners, the artist invited photographers to capture archival and ar- tistic photographs of each piece ⸺ violin, photo frame, star map, and tellurion, understanding their practice stuck between labour and creation based on the discussions of the objects made out of Ke Nan.