SPSL/A-Y (Revisited)

SPSL/A-Y proposes a partial taxonomy and a-chronological index of my artistic practice, as a series of speech acts and tactics that directly and indirectly speak to notions and contradictions of “Chineseness”. Having worked variously across moving image, installation, performance and text over nearly 20 years, this visual / performative paper is less a narrative of progression or arrival (“from here to there” or “how I got here”), than a narrative of awkward returns (“here I am again…”):

97 Proofs – After Words – Altar Notes – Art Vapours – Awards – Chorus / Mobile Chorus –Citius, Altius – DIY Biennale/Ballroom/Live – Faster, Higher – FCHKUK – Five/Six Women – Golden (Ballroom / Hour / Lessons / Notes / Songs / Vistas / Years) – Lean To – Lightness – Making Ways – Mobile Ballroom – Mobile Chorus – Monumental Bargain – NEWS/REEL – RoCH Fan / RoCH Fans & Legends / Trailers / Trilogies – Witness

The essay is a version of a paper presented at the conference, (In)Direct Speech: ‘Chineseness’ in Contemporary Art, 16-19 March 2015, University of Lisbon