Awaiting the bridge

Quemoy means the Golden Door in Chinese. It is a small island controlled by Taiwan, but so close to mainland China that you can see its shoreline. Historically, Quemoy has struggled to maintain a delicate power balance between Taiwan, the U.S. and China. For years the island was a Taiwanese defense outpost, and the military is still present at the island. Everywhere there's reminders of a turbulent past between the two countries that once fought a civil war. But with tensions at relative lows in 2016, an agreement was made to build a bridge between Quemoy and Lieuy island, China. This decision has left the citizens of Quemoy conflicted about becoming a “Peace Experimental Zone” for China and Taiwan. In 2017 during a time of relative optimism, I engaged a local school in interpreting the tensions, hopes and fears of the local citizens. While awaiting the bridge, we sought out to explore the contradictory feelings of being in a place between peace and war: The need to reconnect and overcome past trauma, while being alert and prepared for possible future conflict. The portraits were created in collaboration with Local Methodology, an arts organisation recording the changes and transformation of Kinmen 

Maja Nydal