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 defence 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.

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the portraits were created in collaboration with Local Methodology, an arts organisation recording the changes and transformation of Kinmen

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