The Land in the Middle of the Pond
水池中的土地

Concept, Artistic Direction and Performance: Anchi Lin [Ciwas Tahos] / Cinematography: Liam Morgan / Project assistant: Julia Lin Kingham

• Double-channel HD Video, colour, sound, duration 08 mins 09 secs (looped), x2 water containers, 2021

《水池中的土地》此作品創作於2021綠島人權藝術季影像拍攝地點為石門水庫，隱喩式地探討人為建設的水庫作為一個讓人流離失所的場域，透過一位在被迫流動之下的泰雅族卡拉社阿嬤的視角，試圖勾勒出跨空間性的對話與跨地域性的禁錮想像，而錄像中不同的女性族人與植物交換名字作為一種無形中與土地連結的儀式。

The Land in the Middle of the Pond makes reference to the 1950’s forced displacement of the Atayal Qara community from their ancestral territory for the construction of the Shimen Reservoir – now the main water supply for Northern Taiwan. Throughout the video, we hear the voice of an elder who recalls the events which resulted in the forced displacement of her community and the impact of diaspora. In the video we see Ciwas tracing veins that run along her limbs like rivers.  During the performance, later Ciwas and other Atayal women engage in an Atayal name exchange ritual, between person and plant. This customary ritual Ciwas employs like the tracing of her bloodline at the reservoir, as a symbolic act for reconnecting with her ancestral land while affirming her identity past, present and future.

“Land in the Middle of the Pond depicts the biopolitics of the Qara Atayal community as it intertwines with the river. The work employs different rituals to respond to a history of forced relocation, pollution, and disease — rituals such as painting the veins of one’s legs, carrying water from the reservoir, and the exchanges of names between people and plants. At the same time, it serves as a bridge point and positive call which permeates between individuals.” Tides in the Body Curator Wu Hung-Fei