Transfer Station: The Missing Shadow
2024, April 5 - May 5
Opening | 2024, April 5, Starting 7 p.m.
Curators｜ TSAI Ping-Ju, LI Kuei-Pi
Artists｜ Rajnish Chhanesh, Tapas Roy, Tenzin Tsetan Choklay, TSAI Yung-Ching, Tsering Motup Siddho, Vichar K Achaar (Mahila Zine)
Special Screening - Stories from Tibet in Exile
Mentees: Student Films for Presentation
Time | 2024, April 13, 7:30 p.m. Welcome Time, 8 p.m. Show Time
Mentors: Drung Filmmakers Presentation
Time | 2024, April 27, 7:30 p.m. Welcome Time, 8 p.m. Show Time
Host | Gemeinde Köln
Graphic Design | WEI Wen-Ru, CHEN Yen-Ru
Translation Editor | Alex Huang
Cooperation | Drung Tibetan Filmmakers Collective
Sponsored by |
Kulturamt der Stadt Köln
National Culture and Arts Foundation (Taiwan)
Opening | 2024, April 5, Starting 7 p.m.
Curators｜ TSAI Ping-Ju, LI Kuei-Pi
Artists｜ Rajnish Chhanesh, Tapas Roy, Tenzin Tsetan Choklay, TSAI Yung-Ching, Tsering Motup Siddho, Vichar K Achaar (Mahila Zine)
Special Screening - Stories from Tibet in Exile
Mentees: Student Films for Presentation
Time | 2024, April 13, 7:30 p.m. Welcome Time, 8 p.m. Show Time
Mentors: Drung Filmmakers Presentation
Time | 2024, April 27, 7:30 p.m. Welcome Time, 8 p.m. Show Time
Host | Gemeinde Köln
Graphic Design | WEI Wen-Ru, CHEN Yen-Ru
Translation Editor | Alex Huang
Cooperation | Drung Tibetan Filmmakers Collective
Sponsored by |
Kulturamt der Stadt Köln
National Culture and Arts Foundation (Taiwan)
| transfer-station_handbook.pdf |
Before we explore how borders as demarcating lines on maps shape the way people perceive the concept of territory, let’s first try to understand the concept of “borders” as a kind of space: within this space separating the inside and the outside, internal systems constituted of social exchange, power, and hierarchy are noticeably different from that of the external world. These systems form the foundation from which the national consciousness of a people stems. However, when we attempt to navigate the world’s increasingly complex situations from a geopolitical perspective, it is easy to overlook a fact—borders are not (only) demarcating lines that divide the internal and external space but form a space itself: what a border region reveals is not a geographically transitional area between two states or regions; instead, it is the result of two states or regions being continuously influenced by the identity of and differentiation by other communities and political entities.
Rajnish Chhanesh’s work falls into the category of contemporary miniature painting. Due to the expansion of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, miniature painting has evolved into a new style that continues to develop until today. The artist also draws inspiration from the ongoing conflicts between the Muslim and the Hindu communities. Tapas Roy was born on a refugee boat that sailed the river channels between India and Bangladesh during the Bangladesh Liberation War (1971). Through his painting, the artist delineates the memory of sounds heard in his mother’s womb during the war.
Although globalization paints the picture of a utopian dream that transcends borders, we still need to be cautious when unraveling how Europocentric and non-Europocentric visions created by imperialism and colonialism have influenced the global migration of labor force and migrants, which has been driven by transnational enterprises competing for productivity and interregional industrial chains shaped by the policies different nations. Throughout the process of decolonization, these visions have crumbled and proliferated into countless borders inflicted by tumults and chaos, contemporary South Asia being an example in this case. Furthermore, during this process, the spaces demarcated by these borders have been legally recognized. Together with other ambiguous sites still in the legal gray zone, they have gradually replaced our previous understanding of the so-called border regions.
Tsering Motup Siddho uses the porcelain bowls commonly found in the traditional Ladakh culture as a starting point. This type of porcelain bowl had crossed borders and was introduced to Ladakh through Sikkim and Nepal. However, in recent years, products mass-produced by foreign factories have increasingly replaced these porcelain bowls. Through his work, the artist explores the activities of trade that take place on the borders while discussing the impact of India partially closing the borders regions.
The blurriness and fluidity of borders also make them a perfect dwelling place for historical shadows. Like the entanglement between Taiwan and the phantom of R.O.C., the division produced by the McMahon Line – the creation of which is joined by the R.O.C in 1913 – is still a factor that influences the Sino-Indian border dispute as well as how certain groups are viewed as “refugees” or “overseas citizens” in Taiwan.
Drung is a Tibetan filmmakers collective founded by Tenzin Tsetan Choklay, a Tibetan in exile who has returned to India from the US after the pandemic, together with other Tibetan filmmakers in exile, including Tenzin Kalden and Sonam Tseten. Through projects such as the “Filmmaking Mentorship Program,” they endeavor to preserve stories that have taken place during exile. Tsai Yung-Ching is a documentary filmmaker and human rights activist, who fought for her Tibetan spouse’s right of residence in Taiwan. This film was made before Taiwan revised the law concerning the situation of Tsai’s husband, which specifies that Tibetan individuals in exile who are spouses of Taiwanese citizens shall be viewed as foreign spouses; and related Taiwanese laws are thereby applicable to them. Documenting a filmmaking workshop created for Tibetan students in exile, this film was made during the artist and her husband’s short stays in and continual travels between Taiwan and India. The script, written by the students themselves, recounts various issues in the community of Tibetans in exile, such as unemployment, drinking, and stealing across borders into Western countries. Thirteen years later, more than half of the students who participated in the making of this film have joined the global migrant population to seek a better future in Europe.
Shifting our attention to life in local places, it seems that the influence of borders shaped by gender and hierarchy is ubiquitous and manifests itself in ineffable and uncomfortable details. Vichar K Achaar is a female art group from India. Their Mahila Zine is a long-term and ongoing publication project in collaboration with different female artists. Before each issue goes to print, the preliminary processes of discussion, illustration, and writing for the zine provide women living in conservative Indian society and patriarchal families with a space to breathe.
This exhibition might not be able to provide new solutions for coexistence in relation to the shadowy border regions. However, it signifies an endeavor to offer fresh insights into the formation and expansion of borders, the transborder transaction, and the discomfort lurking in border regions, thus serving as a reference for finding ways of coexisting with the shadow.
Rajnish Chhanesh’s work falls into the category of contemporary miniature painting. Due to the expansion of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, miniature painting has evolved into a new style that continues to develop until today. The artist also draws inspiration from the ongoing conflicts between the Muslim and the Hindu communities. Tapas Roy was born on a refugee boat that sailed the river channels between India and Bangladesh during the Bangladesh Liberation War (1971). Through his painting, the artist delineates the memory of sounds heard in his mother’s womb during the war.
Although globalization paints the picture of a utopian dream that transcends borders, we still need to be cautious when unraveling how Europocentric and non-Europocentric visions created by imperialism and colonialism have influenced the global migration of labor force and migrants, which has been driven by transnational enterprises competing for productivity and interregional industrial chains shaped by the policies different nations. Throughout the process of decolonization, these visions have crumbled and proliferated into countless borders inflicted by tumults and chaos, contemporary South Asia being an example in this case. Furthermore, during this process, the spaces demarcated by these borders have been legally recognized. Together with other ambiguous sites still in the legal gray zone, they have gradually replaced our previous understanding of the so-called border regions.
Tsering Motup Siddho uses the porcelain bowls commonly found in the traditional Ladakh culture as a starting point. This type of porcelain bowl had crossed borders and was introduced to Ladakh through Sikkim and Nepal. However, in recent years, products mass-produced by foreign factories have increasingly replaced these porcelain bowls. Through his work, the artist explores the activities of trade that take place on the borders while discussing the impact of India partially closing the borders regions.
The blurriness and fluidity of borders also make them a perfect dwelling place for historical shadows. Like the entanglement between Taiwan and the phantom of R.O.C., the division produced by the McMahon Line – the creation of which is joined by the R.O.C in 1913 – is still a factor that influences the Sino-Indian border dispute as well as how certain groups are viewed as “refugees” or “overseas citizens” in Taiwan.
Drung is a Tibetan filmmakers collective founded by Tenzin Tsetan Choklay, a Tibetan in exile who has returned to India from the US after the pandemic, together with other Tibetan filmmakers in exile, including Tenzin Kalden and Sonam Tseten. Through projects such as the “Filmmaking Mentorship Program,” they endeavor to preserve stories that have taken place during exile. Tsai Yung-Ching is a documentary filmmaker and human rights activist, who fought for her Tibetan spouse’s right of residence in Taiwan. This film was made before Taiwan revised the law concerning the situation of Tsai’s husband, which specifies that Tibetan individuals in exile who are spouses of Taiwanese citizens shall be viewed as foreign spouses; and related Taiwanese laws are thereby applicable to them. Documenting a filmmaking workshop created for Tibetan students in exile, this film was made during the artist and her husband’s short stays in and continual travels between Taiwan and India. The script, written by the students themselves, recounts various issues in the community of Tibetans in exile, such as unemployment, drinking, and stealing across borders into Western countries. Thirteen years later, more than half of the students who participated in the making of this film have joined the global migrant population to seek a better future in Europe.
Shifting our attention to life in local places, it seems that the influence of borders shaped by gender and hierarchy is ubiquitous and manifests itself in ineffable and uncomfortable details. Vichar K Achaar is a female art group from India. Their Mahila Zine is a long-term and ongoing publication project in collaboration with different female artists. Before each issue goes to print, the preliminary processes of discussion, illustration, and writing for the zine provide women living in conservative Indian society and patriarchal families with a space to breathe.
This exhibition might not be able to provide new solutions for coexistence in relation to the shadowy border regions. However, it signifies an endeavor to offer fresh insights into the formation and expansion of borders, the transborder transaction, and the discomfort lurking in border regions, thus serving as a reference for finding ways of coexisting with the shadow.
Opening, Gemeinde Köln, Photo by Sebastian Wulff, 2024
Opening, Gemeinde Köln, Photo by Sebastian Wulff, 2024
Special Screening- Stories from Tibet n Exile: Drung Filmmakers Presentation, Gemeinde Köln, Photo by LI Kuei-Pi, 2024
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