The Cove Park, nestled on a peninsula’s mountainside, commands an outlook over a fjord of poetic beauty. The complex, constructed primarily from timber, glass, and repurposed containers, integrates seamlessly with its environment, as if organically surfacing from the earth’s own contours. To dwell here is to experience an innate harmony with the surrounding landscape.

Yet the most captivating spectacle lies in its inhabitants. The Scots, known for their attentive listening and readiness to assist, possess a distinct accent that resonates with an unfussy warmth and genuine fervor. I am constantly moved by their cultural self-assurance and affirmation of locality. Their steadfast preservation of the Gaelic language and heritage, as well as a profound adherence to “root” and legacy, reminds me to look back on my own cultural lineage, and to re-examine my kinship with memory and the land.

During the residency, I began composing a long novel - a genre entirely new to my practice. The narrative is initiated by the traditional rites accompanying my grandmother’s passing. These rituals served as a succession of portals, guiding me into the obscure passages of my lineage, prompting a re-examination of the manifold meanings and complex emotions embedded in funerary customs. Fragments of migration, diaspora, and the imprints of an era resonated in the vast and tranquil silence of the Highlands. Stories once neglected or forsaken are thus granted the permission to sustain their vitality in a new temporal and spatial continuum.

The Cove Park receives artists from diverse disciplines and nations each week. Upon meeting new residents, they often mention hearing of me or recounting my story through prior introductions. Yet, many remain unaware of Taiwan’s geographical location, its integral role in key technologies (such as those in their iPhones), and have minimal exposure to Taiwanese art and culture. These encounters underscore the long path we must still take globally.

The month-long residency felt like a dream; everything seems to be just commencing. My hope is for future Taiwanese artists at the Cove Park to be accorded greater, sustained support. Artistic cultivation necessitates unhurried time, dedicated not merely to project completion, but critically, to the creator’s true “immersion” in the local life, thereby establishing a deeper, more enduring connection with its cultural community.

Author: Shieh Wang-Ling
Edited: Brix