New Taipei: The 2025 Green Island Biennial delves into temporal and spatial isolation experienced by political prisoners in remote confinement, the exhibition's head curator, Nobuo Takamori, said at an opening ceremony on Tuesday.
According to Focus Taiwan, Takamori highlighted that while Green Island is geographically close to Taiwan, it became emblematic of a barrier during the White Terror period, ostracizing individuals who were politically prosecuted and condemned from society and time. This serves as the foundation for the exhibition's theme, "Duration of 149 Sea Miles: The Struggle of Memory Against Forgetting," representing the journey the first group of political prisoners took from Keelung to Green Island.
The then-authoritarian Kuomintang (KMT) government started incarcerating political prisoners on Green Island in 1951, where many faced forced labor. Culture Minister Li Yuan emphasized that similarly, the people on Taiwan were isolated from the outside world under the dictatorship, with restricted travel and censored information flow. The minister assured continued governmental support to preserve White Terror era memories and promote human rights education in Taiwan.
According to Takamori, several artworks, including video recordings, installations, and drawings by 31 artists from Taiwan and abroad, will be displayed at the Green Island White Terror Memorial Park from Wednesday to September 21. By drawing parallels between Taiwan and other nations with tumultuous histories, the biennial aims to foster a deeper understanding of the White Terror era's history.
Among the showcased works is "For Every Freedom, Hope Remains," a series of large-scale woodcut prints by Malaysian art group Pangrok Sulap. Adi, a member of Pangrok Sulap, explained that woodcut art has a history of "resistance" against those in power and honors the strength of those who endured oppression. Taiwanese artist Wang Te-yu will present "N22.40," an installation paying tribute to late White Terror victim and human rights advocate Tsai Kun-lin, encouraging visitors to reflect on the significance of freedom and human rights.
The Green Island White Terror Memorial Park, previously a prison compound for political prisoners and other serious offenders, was transformed into a museum in 2018 to commemorate the victims of political repression during the White Terror period from 1949 to 1992.