2024 ongoing
On March 23, 2021, the cargo ship “Ever Given” ran aground in a sandstorm in the Suez Canal, causing a six-day disruption that affected global supply chains. For a long time, such huge ships have been invisible and hidden in abstract maps and sophisticated algorithmic processes. However, this unexpected “system error” has brought their concrete image into the public eye.
The “Ever Given” was manufactured in Japan, operated by a Taiwanese company and transported between China and Europe. As a Chinese artist living in Europe, this aroused my great interest, especially at the time when the passenger routes to my home country were closed due to the pandemic. On the other hand, the Suez Canal area has been a maritime gateway between Asia and Europe since its completion, as well as the site of a sophisticated international quarantine apparatus. This “system error” led me to accidentally connect the historical context of colonialism in this region with the complex international geopolitical reality of today.
This work does not intend to delve further into the “Ever Given” as a metaphor for the current state of globalization, but rather seeks to use this incident as a key to a new narrative, detached from the news and public discussions, to trace and document what happens/has happened, what has not yet been noticed, and what has not yet been told.
