Embassy

This work began with the idea of the Embassy – the official institutional face of Country or Empire, the projection of political power. The idea of country or nation is fraught with complications and contradictions, as is readily clear in Taiwan, an independent, peaceful, democratic nation that, according to some, does not exist at all. In a world where the threats are global, the projection of state-power to deny freedom is ridiculous. The Embassies in this work are ridiculous, little buildings with big flags, emitting blathering sounds through tin speakers. Two Embassies engage in a non-dialogue in the institutional space of the Hall of the Cultural Centre, while outside a lion ignores their prattle. Meanwhile, on a coast scattered with shale, sandstone, and fossils, another Embassy – this time in the guise of a military bunker – flies its flag in the face of the winds from the sea. This Bunker/Embassy is surrounded by the geological traces of deep time, a demonstration that Empires come and go, mere blips in the flow of time. Flag design by Ai Chia Lin, sound design by Yannick Dauby