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29|Ruins of the Intelligence Bureau

HSU Chia-wei

2015

13'30'' | Single-channel video

Ruins of the Intelligence Bureau was filmed at its historical site in Huai Mo Village. The artist invited former intelligence officers, who still live in this area, and those that serve for the Thai army currently to participate in filming. The video opens with the puppet show upon the grounds of the Intelligence Bureau, presenting an ancient legend about the monkey general Hanuman leading a troop to battle and helps his prince to return to the kingdom he was exiled from. Meanwhile, the camera switches to the studio and shows a veteran officer, who served for 39 years in the army, in the middle of recording. He, while looking at a huge projection, recites the myth and describes his own personal experiences as well as the real situation of other former officers in Huai Mo Village. Unlike the prince in the myth, they are not able to return to their kingdom; they are a group of unknown people who had been forgotten in the tides of history. The final scene of the video reveals an empty recording studio, where only the video is still running. Weaving together folklore and reality, documentary and fiction, this video reveals complex identities, memories and dreams of people in Huai Mo Village.

HSU Chia-Wei

Born in Taichung, Taiwan in 1983, Hsu graduated from Le Fresnoy National Studio for Contemporary Arts in France in 2016 and currently lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan. His work as an artist, filmmaker and curator merges the languages of film and contemporary art and unearths the complex mechanisms behind the production of images. In his art practice, Hsu places a special emphasis on the agency behind his film creation, and through establishing events outside the frame, he weaves together connections among humans, materials and places that have been overlooked or omitted in conventional historical narratives.

The 15th Taishin Arts Award - Annual Grand Prize|Huai Mo Village

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