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A Promised Land: The Planet of Angels is an art project launched by CHOU Ching-Hui in 2018. Based on interview recordings, the objective of the project is to empathize with the stories and living conditions derived from how the “angels” and their families interact with society.

Preparation Period: 35 months
Interviewee: 74 persons
Total Time of Interviews: 316 hours
Total Word Count of Interview Transcripts: 700,000 words
Scouted Locations: 57 
Shooting Locations: 14
Actors: 38
Characters: 148
Hand-drawn Sketches: 30 pieces
Estimated Shooting Hours: 1,032 hours

More than thirty hand-drawn sketches for fabricated photography are narrowed down to fourteen themes covering a range of highly complex life-related issues that concern every individual, including birth, education, religion, marital relation, even how one copes with death, etc. Collectively, these issues portray the friction encountered in the life journey of mentally challenged children, and how they integrate into society. At the same, time, the project also reflects on our own relationship with society.

The project attempts to unfold more dialogues and explorations. As the unique life stories of the “angels” are highlighted, the project also engages in building a connection with the audience and their own life experiences to further encourage them to think about one particular question: do the so-called “normal” families not encounter problems related to marriage, parenting, sibling, education, religious belief, long-term care for elders, etc.? Perhaps families of “angels” that seem “abnormal” in people’s eyes possess things that “normal” people long for. We, who are considered “normal,” perhaps also share similar life experiences with families of “angels.”

The art projects aim to foster the abovesaid idea in the minds of the audience so that the boundary between what is “normal” and what is “abnormal” can gradually be erased, leading our society one step closer to “the promised land.”

Each one of us lives in our own world of solitude, seeing others as aliens. Would you be willing to take a look at other people’s worlds to create a better planet together?