Ghosts in the Foreign Land
Ghosts in the Foreign Land is a research project, initiated by artist Lin Szu-Han at the end of 2023, investigating the Bîng KunToh (Underworld-Army Table), a ritual held during Ghost Month to honor foreign spirits in Penghu, Taiwan. This practice can be traced back to the 17th century’s Age of Discovery, when East and Southeast Asia became hotspots of conflict, leaving many soldiers to perish and wander as spirits foreign lands.
The core themes of Lin Wen-Hsuan’s work are memory and psychological space, transforming past negative experiences into symbolic gifts as a way to let them go. Growing up in the countryside, Lin struggled with the fast pace of modern life, which led her to adopt a slower artistic process—through rituals, this extended creative journey becomes a nurturing experience that helps her release past troubles.
In recent works, she has begun observing how objects change within psychological space, focusing on the viewer’s experience and interaction with the space itself. Lin Wen-Hsuan’s early ceramic works treat clay as a material shaped by geography, history, culture, space, and time, carrying unique meanings in people’s minds.
