Note: In order to better describe a group of people who continuously travel across borders due to political or economic reasons, Li Kuei-Pi coined the term “TransBorder” as the title of her project. In the project, she created a fictional company based on real stories told by illegal immigrants in Taiwan, Cambodia and India, providing services to transfer people from one country to another. This article presents a conversation between Li Kuei-Pi and Dolma Tsering, who is a Tibetan in exile now living in Taiwan. In the first section, Dolma gives us a brief history of Tibetan in exile and clarifies the differences among refugees, exiles and the stateless. Following the historical discussion, Li shares her methods and strategies to understand such complicated issues related to refugees and exiles. She emphasises “the inefficiency of art” might be the major concern of her, when it comes to preserving the diversity of different communities, and not turning into a messenger of certain political ideology.
Lee Kuei-pi, "TransBorder" (2020-1); photo courtesy of artist
Lee Kuei-pi, "TransBorder" (2020-1); photo courtesy of artist
Lee Kuei-pi, "Dimand Island" (2020); photo courtesy of artist