After filming had wrapped on The Story of Hoping Island (2008), Chia-Wei Hsu discovered by chance that the remains of 17th century Fort Noord-Holland lay beneath the boat factory he had been filming in. This sparked the artist’s interest in exploring the complex networks of the Dutch East India Company, and led him to begin piecing together various interrelated events that connect Ho Ping Island to the wider Asian colonial period. From within this context, with animals serving as narrative threads, he traced the historical and political journeys of three of those species — the giant panda, the Malayan tapir, and deer — to cast a light on how animals played a part in the construction and shaping of alternative East Asian trade networks. Working his way from animal appreciation and viewing, conservation, and labor, through to animal diplomacy and trade, Hsu highlights the dense web of relationships that connect modern Taiwan, China, Singapore, Cambodia, and Japan. As the world’s first public limited company, the Dutch East India Company became a key player in developing the colonial trade network between Asian coastal regions from the 17th century onwards by introducing the concept of 'bartering'. Black and White－Giant Panda thus tackles the international influence of animal diplomacy; Black and White－Malayan Tapir addresses the conflict surrounding the encyclopedic mapping and naming of the world’s flora and fauna; and Samurai and Deer appropriates the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) — the smart linking of objects in today’s digital era — to revisit and reimagine colonial networks as an alternative ‘bartering’ Internet of Things. By doing so, Hsu allows audiences to view these subjects through contemporary lenses, whilst simultaneously drawing connections between the present moment and the embryonic stages of today’s globalization. Lead Sponsor｜Hong Chien Ching-Hui Organizers｜Hong Foundation, MoNTUE Sponsor｜LIANG Gallery Supporting Partner｜Panasonic Taiwan