Lin Wei-Lun

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Mazu

Mazu, the sea goddess who arrived in Taiwan from the China three centuries ago, is seen today not only as the protector of the island’s fishermen and sailors, but as theguardian deity of Taiwan as a whole. Over a period of geopolitical instability in the region, heightened by U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in 2022, Wei-Lun made this series of postcards to ask for Mazu’s protection.

Mazu, the sea goddess who arrived in Taiwan from the China three centuries ago, is seen today not only as the protector of the island’s fishermen and sailors, but as theguardian deity of Taiwan as a whole. Over a period of geopolitical instability in the region, heightened by U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in 2022, Wei-Lun made this series of postcards to ask for Mazu’s protection. The photographs printed on the postcards document Wei-Lun’s personal journey and his investigation into the impact of Pelosi’s visit on himself and other Taiwanese people around him. In line with the Taoist tradition of burning offerings to gods, Wei-Lun attached stamps made of gold joss paper to the postcards and set them alight, thus delivering them to Mazu. As Mazu is an important religious figure in both China and Taiwan, Chinese state media has been using this shared connection as an opportunity for propaganda since the late1990s, emphasising common cultural roots in order to promote the idea of unity between China and the Taiwanese people. “Mazu,” is the winner of the