Shih-en(Aster) Lin

Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof (I only know the way to the train station)

 

 

Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof (I only know the way to the train station) 2025, ink, pencil, digital print on Bible paper, 14.8×21cm (Single size, 28-piece collection)

My MFA project explores migration, identity, and belonging through a mythic visual narrative. The installation consists of hand-drawn maps on Bible paper, overlaid with ink-painted swallows that occupy the empty spaces between transit lines. Each map represents a real station, airport, or transit point from my journey between Taiwan and Australia, forming a horizontal pathway across the wall.

 

 

The work includes a self-written myth presented bilingually, with English on the left and Mandarin on the right, inviting viewers to “travel” the piece in two directions. This shifting reading experience mirrors life lived between two homelands. Through repetition, mark-making, and the symbolism of swallows, the work transforms systems of mapping and scripture into a personal language of migration, longing, and return.

 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/aster_shihenlin/

Website https://shihenlin0119.wixsite.com/shihenlin

 

Shih-en(Aster) Lin