Wang Yao-yi

During the Chinese Civil War, Taiwan was seen as the terminal destination for a unit fleeing themainland. However, while crossing the Sino-Vietnamese border, they were detained on an islandcalled “Phú Quốc” by the French authorities, who were colonizing Vietnam at that time. Unawareof how long this temporary detention would last, they began transforming this primitive island into abase for a future counterattack on the mainland. Four years later, they finally managed to sail to Tai-wan — an island they had never been to but regarded as their homeland. Years later, in Kaohsiung’s Chengcing Lake, there is also an artificial island named “Phú Quốc” built to commemorate this unit,effectively becoming Phú Quốc 2.0.

No description available.

The work connects Taiwan’s first lost film from 1907 with today’s film industry struggles, exploring how history is remembered and forgotten. Through exploring this long history, the work shows a constant but hard-to-reach yearning for progress and understanding. In his films, Yao-Yi Wang blends real and imagined stories to show how people keep longing for progress, even when life feels stuck or incomplete.