The piece was part of the Cut Copy Paste three person exhibition at Hamilton Artists Inc. gallery in Hamilton, Ontario. June 9 to August 12, 2023.

This is one of the first piece of the scroll series. It is focused on my Taiwanese family roots, and how Truth and Reconciliation has played out in Taiwan. The subject was motivated from my experiences collaborating with First Nation artists in BC, many who explore their family history, colonialism, residential schools, and Truth and Reconciliation within Canada through their art. The concept of this work originates from my continuing research on connecting between traditional craftsmanship technique and contemporary art practice. A scroll in the tradition of calligraphy poetry will depict important moments from my family members’ experiences and history.

Taiwan was under martial law between 1949 and 1987 under the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuo Min Tang, or KMT), who oppressed and executed thousands of Taiwanese peoples during this period. Taiwan’s transition to becoming a democracy largely started in 1991, with the first direct election of a president in 1996. In 2016 the newly elected president Tsai Ing-wen announced a plan to create a new Truth and Reconciliation commission to document, preserve, and educate the public on martial-law-era atrocities. My family is one of many who lost family members from this brutal authoritarian regime.