Qijin Kitchen, Kaohsiung

Qijin kitchen is a project developed by the Taiwanese artist Wu Mali in Kaohsiung, the main harbour city in the south of Taiwan. The kitchen is located on Qijin island, a thin band of land that separates the inner bay of Kaohsiung from the ocean. The history of Kaohsiung harbour is tied to the island’s position at the top of the Southern China seas. Qijin island has been for many centuries populated by fishermen, and today is made to stand for a ‘vernacular Taiwan’, a glimpse into the pre-industrialized world. This is a false impression, as the population, in the past as today, is made up of migrants sailing the waves of history, and consuming foodstuffs from well beyond Taiwan's current borders.

Art in Former Military Sites: Spectres of Geopolitics in Southeast Asia - Gabriel Gee