becoming

'becoming' consisted of 6 DVD works shown on courtroom monitors with sound interspersed throughout the space. The installation was an extension of an earlier single screen version titled 'Vent and Mimesis' (2003).

The focus of these works is the construction and negotiation of personal identity within broader socio-political frameworks and reflects on the anxieties of globalisation, immigration and cultural differences in relation to notions of citizenship and ‘naturalisation’. The performative work involves the act of rehearsing, reciting and reconstructing pledges thereby engaging and extending the writings of Judith Butler, Jean Fisher and Jacques Derrida, and practices of Trinh, Fusco and Green.

'becoming' examines the processes of role-play and self-actualisation and explores the ambiguities of translation (Spivak, Sarat Maharaj), probing into the shifting values of the spoken word to expose its relative meanings, and the act of pledge-taking as a structure of ordering, having power and control over the individual. In these ways, becoming considers how a sense of self - the physical and private self, as well as the more public and nation-ed self - comes into being as both process and performance.

Erika Tan

Erika Tan is a London based artist and curator whose work has evolved from an interest in anthropology and the moving image. Her work is often informed by specific cultural, geographical or physical contexts; exploring different media to create situations that excite, provoke, question, confront and invite comments from an audience. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including EAST International 2000 at Norwich Gallery, included in "Cities on the Move" at The Hayward Gallery, and "Incommunicado" a Hayward Touring exhibition. She has completed a Film & Video Umbrella Commission (PIDGIN: interrupted Transmission), permanent work for East England Arts (Utopic Blurr), and a permanent work for the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail (In Situ). Recent projects include a residency commission with Turner Contemporary, Margate, a BBC Radio London Residency, a video commission with Picture This, Bristol, and an Artists Links Shanghai Residency, China. Erika is also making new work for Singapore’s first International Biennale (2006).

As an extension to her practice, Erika has also jointly curated and project managed art projects in association with Above:Below such as: The ICA in China; Imaginaria Digital Art Prize '99; HUB @The RiCHMiX, an urban regeneration project; Souvenirs, interventionist project in Museum Street, London. Erika has also had a long-standing interest and engagement with the Chinese Arts sector in Britain. Working as a Chinese Arts Worker and freelance research assistant/curator she has contributed to Half the Sky: Chinese Women in London, Museum of London, 1997. In Focus: Film and Video from the Chinese Diaspora: Britain and Another Province, Waterman Art Center, London, 1997. She is currently involved in the development of CAS, an East Asian Art Space within the center of London.

Erika studied Social Anthropology and Archaeology at Kings College, Cambridge; Film Directing at The Beijing Film Academy, followed by an M.A in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins School of Art, London. She is currently undertaking PhD Research within T.R.A.I.N (Transnational Art Identity and Nation), University of the Arts, London. Awards have included: The Arts Council Black Arts Video Award, 1993. Firstbase, ACAVA Studio Award, 1995. Digital Arts Fellowship, The Arts Foundation, 1998. British Council Travel Grant to Japan, Arts Council Connections Fund to Singapore, 99/2000. ACME Live Work Studio Award, London, 2001-2004. Artists Links British Council/Arts Council Residency in China Award.