Dinh Q. Lê’s work for The Colony features newly filmed footage of the Chincha Islands off the coast of Peru which are inhabited by large colonies of birds and are rich in guano – a powerful fertiliser. Currently these islands are uninhabited but during the mid 19th Century the Chincha Islands were central to global markets and contested by Spanish, American, and Peruvian powers in order to lay claim to what was then one of the most valuable global commodities. At the height of the ‘Guano Rush’ thousands of bonded Chinese labourers were forced to live on these islands in brutal conditions to harvest the fertiliser. The United States passed the Guano Act in 1856 and Spain and Peru went to war from 1864-1866 because of the Chincha Islands. By revisiting 19th Century imperialism and colonial economic disputes, The Colony also poses questions in relation to contemporary conflicts over mineral exploitation. In the accompanying catalogue, in which Dinh Q. Lê is joined in conversation with Zoe Butt, they also discusses this project in relation to the current political instability over the contested islands in the South China Seas taking place between Vietnam and its larger neighbour China.

Source: Void.