Chang Chien-Chi’s work documents the living conditions of North Koreans under Communist rule and an attempted border crossing. Perhaps the most controversial Communist country in the world, all information about North Korea is produced by its government propaganda machine. Thus, the situation there can only be understood via limited information channels. In the 1990s severe famine forced a large number of North Koreans to cross the northern border into China, then travel to Laos, across the Mekong River and Thailand to finally reach South Korea. This secret journey was long, arduous and dangerous. The Magnum photographer Chang Chien-Chi has worked with disadvantaged groups for many years, especially illegal immigrants. Chien-Chi has developed a unique way of working – spending time with the people he photographs, developing friendships and mutual trust. In this way he has “become a part of the lives of the people in his pictures, and can photograph them without their being wary of the camera” (Lin Hong-John). In 2007 and 2008, Chang traveled with a group of North Korean refugees, recording their trip across the borders of several countries. Alongside the photographs and video on display in the exhibition, Chang has produced an installation using a long, blank sheet of photo paper to join together two images – the national leader and the illegal immigrant – metaphorically drawing the unseen yet intense relationship between them. This “empty space” of communication between the government and its people represents an inextricable link.

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