A Performance in the Church

Focused on the 2018-2020 excavation of Todos los Santos Church on Heping Island, Taiwan, this film delves into maritime exploration and colonisation of Taiwan. The director combines archaeological findings with a cross-disciplinary musical performance, capturing the delicate excavation process. Furthermore, the film traces a creative journey from the site to historical events in Asia.

'It took four years to complete this documentary, capturing the archaeological excavations on Heping Island and subsequent analyses. Filming behind the scenes of the archaeologists’ work really inspired me; they focus on such minute details of material fragments, distinct from the macro-narratives of history. These are narratives brought together through material matters. None of us has experienced the distant times and spaces connected through the material fragments, such as the 17th-century monastery on Heping Island, the Cambodian-Dutch war, or the fort’s destruction in Malacca. We rely on contemporary technologies to imagine a vast space and time beyond our lived experience. In this film, we attempt to present a journey of imagination through the intersection of contemporary art, sound art and archaeology.' - HSU Chia-wei