Hsi-Lun is a photographer from Taiwan, currently based in London. With years of experience in photojournalism and a background in video production, Hsi-Lun holds a profound interest for the themes of displacement and memory.

 

"I Came From the Sea" is a project initiated by Hsi-Lun during her time volunteering at a Vietnamese refugee center in London. Through activities such as group dancing, mahjong, card games, and exploring culinary traditions, she discovered commonalities between Vietnamese refugees and her own Asian background. Simultaneously, within the context of history, the project delves into the personal stories of the Vietnamese boat people who risked their lives in the 1980s to flee their hometowns and start anew in the UK. Over these forty years, their intricate and unspoken identities, as well as their relationship with history, have become more nuanced. These stories have also become a small fragment of British society.

 

Approaching the 40th anniversary of Vietnamese boat people's resettlement, small refugee-filled boats still reach the UK's shores. After four decades, does the world truly differ? The query endures.