Between the Shores

As a long-term migrant caregiver, Fidati shapes Indonesian stories with Taiwanese paper clay. After years of separation during the pandemic, she returns to Central Java in 2024. Laughter and tears intertwine, yet family duty keeps her moving between two lands, where the taste of mangoes bridges emotions across the sea.

Cheng Chih-ming & Lily Huang: ‘What does “home” look like for those who labour far from their roots? In 2023, we filmed Fidati’s Room, a cramped five-pyeong room in Taichung that served as her creative sanctuary. Here, she transcended her identity as a migrant worker, molding Indonesian stories from Taiwanese clay.In 2024, we followed her back to Central Java to witness the fruits of fifteen years of toil: a grand house and thriving livestock. Yet, a poignant irony emerged — Fidati has long been an absentee in the home she built. While her sacrifice bought land and bricks, the cost was time itself. Realities shift and dreams evolve, but the towering mango tree at her doorstep remains — bittersweet as ever.’