Longhu Town, located on the coast of Fujian Province, China, has been a key departure point for migrant workers since... Read More
Longhu Town, located on the coast of Fujian Province, China, has been a key departure point for migrant workers since the last century. The ocean serves as both a livelihood and a cross-border passage, and countless families have endured a fate of displacement, separation, and identity fractures in the historical context of their migration to Southeast Asia.
This work, using the Fujian folk ritual of "burning the king's boat" as a metaphor, explores the fractures and contradictions within migrant families through installation and performance art. The central installation constructs a symbolic space with water pipes, wooden boats, and braziers. The flow of seawater pumped by the pumps serves as both a means of livelihood and a barrier separating families. The boat's hull, composed of a broken frame and fragile hemp ropes, reflects the structural deficiencies of transnational families. Through the interaction of runes, ropes, and ashes, the audience experiences the tension between "sacred integrity" and "fragmented dysfunction," gradually entering the narrative of the migrant families.
During the performance, children pour ashes into the boat's hull, which is ultimately ignited by elders, completing a paradoxical ritual of migration, sacrifice, and the fading of kinship.
More Description：https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k3rmMj8_W8O_qz0jzID_yN6YIzF_i6cW/view?usp=sharing
