Performance Archive
Collective Performance
By Yue Yuen Yu | published on 4 July 2021
A Clockwork Lai Chi presented our first collective performance on 28 May 2021 in the exhibition premier opening.
“Beep!”
This is the signal sound performers will follow the hidden underlying rules. During the 45-minutes-long experience, the performance brought together the concerns of the present everyday’s life and practice, under the constant surveillance condition. In the performance, authority was created and power was assigned respectively from the top down.
This performance engaged with attributes such as trust, command and obey, order and disorder, action and reaction, and the physical dimensions in which impromptu movements and gestures occurred with distinctive observations in the surroundings.
“We are all Lai Chi”, quoted from the curatorial statement. The line between curator and artists / audience and performer was indistinct. Curator joined in the performance, who acted as a factor manager, offered commands to the artists, who were the “worker”. Audience stood as the action unfold around them and witnessed the controlling power of the watching eye.
“With a deliberate intention to strip away our identity and eventually constrict our bodies into one singularity, I have made a set of uniforms for our artist collective to wear when we are “on duty” in this carceral space.” Iv chan, our uniform designer said. “Our uniforms assimilated the general impressions of the prison and factory outfit, but with a playful twist in its design, wearer’s behaviours are incited to improvise within the mechanism of power.” Although the workers face rigid rules, the performance choreography has no limit whenever the factory manager empower the workers.
Curatorial Unit: Landescape1823
Choreographer: Yue Yuen Yu
Performers: Hon Kei Yan Adrian, Arielle Tse, Wing Sze Ng, IV Chan, Grace Leung Hiu Ling, Martha Mai Hatch, Michele Chu, Fung Ching Laam Natalie, Michelle Tam Man Ching, Vunkwan Tam, Ringo Lo Wing Tao, Simone, Yue Yuen Yu
策展單位：地逸一八二三
編導 : 余沅榆
演出者：韓己仁、謝恩旗、吳咏詩、陳子雯、譚綽琳、梁曉聆、王昊絢、朱凱婷、馮靖嵐、譚敏晴、譚煥坤、盧永滔、善忘、余沅榆
Becoming Lai Chi
Uniforms and artists
制服和藝術家
Becoming Lai Chi is an on-site experiment. With a deliberate intention to strip away our identity and eventually constrict our bodies into one singularity, I have made a set of uniforms for our artist collective to wear when we are “on duty” in this carceral space. Our uniforms assimilated the general impressions of the prison and factory outfit, but with a playful twist in its design, wearer’s behaviours are incited to improvise within the mechanism of power. When the examined body – the body that has been surveilled by an imaginary other – is meshed with a serviceable, productive and creative body, what kind of “desirable form” will the docile body be molded into?
“Docile Bodies” comes from the larger work of Discipline and Punishment, in which Michel Foucault argues that individuals are under constant surveillance and regulation in ways that are often subtle and thereby seemingly invisible , leading to normalization and acceptance of such systems. If following the interpretation given by Foucault, uniforms can be read as a tool in the shaping of minds and bodies, whether it is to uphold an authoritarian stance as seen in police or military uniforms, or to adopt a submissive attitude, as when wearing asylum attire, factory or prison uniforms.
Each uniform has its own bearing on its wearer; with the putting on of the uniform, the body is transformed, and a persona is adopted. This is not to say, however, that the wearer inevitably takes to the persona imposed on his body without first putting up a struggle...If the conformity and the suppression of the individual’s personality, as well as order, hierarchy and status are presumably inescapable by-products of the adoption of the uniform, how can we prepare our docile body the sustainability to retrieve its autonomy and integrity when the chance of breaking out of the cocoon arrives?
IV Chan
Anxiety Schedule
焦慮時間表
May 30, 31, June 4, 5, 6, 12, 13, 14
3:00-6:00PM
CCTV, screens, sound, performance
監視器、螢幕、聲音、行為
Variable
尺寸可變
JCCAC L7 Green Space 綠色空間
Imprisoned in a daily time loop,
constantly reminded by an unbearable, unignorable sound alarm of what to do,
which factorize life into pieces.
Sudden strike of stress goes through my body from head to toe.
Violently breaks the dream. Prison is our mind.
Being watched, being quantified.
Anxiety Schedule (2021) is based on the idea of “factory bell”: An 1-min alarm will roar in every 15 mins from 3pm-6pm every day. Maximize the horror and anxiety alarm caused. Factory bells not only told workers what to do every day but also indicated time (work as a clock) in the past. Performance will happen during the bell rings. I will appear in the CCTV monitors on L5, according to the reminder of the scheduled alarm. Doing life performance, trying to stay alive and defactorize the fragmented life/day.
每日被囚禁在時間循環中，
難以忍受而不能忽視的警報持續提醒著該
做什麼，
也將生命瓦解成碎片。
突然的壓力從頭到腳貫穿我的身體。
狠狠地劃破了我的夢。
監獄是我們的意念。
被監視，被量化。
焦慮時間表(2021)靈感來自「工廠鐘聲」: 每天下午三時至六時每 15 分鐘響一 次 1 分鐘的警報聲。 最大限度地引起警 報帶來的恐懼和焦慮。 工廠的鐘聲不僅 告訴工人每天要做的事情，而且還指示過 去的時間(作為鐘)。 行為將在鐘聲響 起時發生， 根據預定警示，我將出現在 5樓的CCTV 的螢幕中，設法生存及拼合零碎的生活。
Grace Leung Hiu Ling
梁曉聆
2021
Here I am Here I was
performance/ installation
表演/ 裝置藝術
Size Variable
尺寸可變
When I first came to the L7 Green Space, I felt a sense of dissonance. Compared to the Shek Kip Mei that I know, the scent of sweat is missing. Now I come with nothing, working out in the open space, collecting sweat, spray it in air, transferring the heat and smell to the audience, hence, filling the missing part with myself.
初來到七樓的空間，我感到違和。與我認識的石硤尾，少了一陣汗味。現在我空手來到，在空地鍛煉，收集身上的汗水噴灑在空氣中， 令訪客從熱量和氣味中感受我的存在。用自己補上那缺失的部份。
Hon Kei Yan, Adrian
韓己仁
2021
Work in Progress
工程進行中
Traffic cones, barricade lights, steel wire
雪糕筒、工程燈、鋼線
Size Variable
尺寸可變
I collected a pile of abandoned traffic cones from the street and built them into a pillar, a lighthouse and a tree. This is the result of my efforts and the prison for my labour. As long as the light continues to flash, I'm willing to climb through the tree trunk and take it to the starry sky.
我從街道撿來一堆被廢棄的工程物，並將它們砌成一支柱，一座燈塔，一棵樹。這是我努力的成果，也是我勞動的監所。只要燈光繼續閃，我願爬著樹幹把它帶到星空之上。
Simone
善忘
2021
An Endless (Stupid) Discussion, 2021
You are in a group discussion. Here are two principles:
Please make good points as if you are eager to discuss and have a lot to express.
Sorry,you don’t get to choose yourstance but this is the fun part!
You will be receiving a card with a discussion topic and an “answer.”The answers are a bit odd. Please don’t mind.
There are two identities: initiator and speaker.
I will be choosing one person to start the discussion before it begins. He/she will be the initiator. Others will all be speakers in this round. Let’s say this time ○A has been chosen. Then He/she has to introduce the topic and invite all to discuss. Add some elaborations perhaps, but he/she does not have to give his/ her stance.
After the initiator’s introduction, the first person on his/her left will have to speak next, with a given position of the affirmative. In our example, this person would be ○B. It is required that he/she has to clearly state his/her standpoint(i.e. to agree). Let us know his/her thoughts, throw in some examplesand end whenever.
The next person to speak would be the one on ○B‘s left, which is ○C. He/she has been given a negative stance. It is required that he/she has to clearly state his/her standpoint (i.e. to disagree). Let us know his/her thoughts, throw in some examples and end whenever.
From the above illustration I guess you have probably understood that the discussion goes
○A→○B→○C→○D→○E→○F→○G→○H→○I
Affirmative→Negative →Affirmative→NegativeAffirmative→Negative→Affirmative→Negative…and so on.
The discussion ends when the initiator has seen any speaker, within their own speech, has performed the “answer.” This person will be the winner. After his/her winning speech, the initiator will have to jump in and let all know that we don’t have to discuss any more because this speaker has delivered the most satisfactory ideas and we should move on to next round where the one sitting on the winner’s left will be the new initiator.For example, if○G is the winner, ○H will be initiating next round.
If no one wins in a cycle, the discussion will continue while the initiator can choose whether to speak but still he/she should not give a stance.
If you need more tips on group discussion skills, please visit https://www.naukri.com/blog/group-discussion-tips-you-must-know/
Wing Sze Ng
吳咏詩
2021
Patina Processing
包漿加工
Performer: Arielle Tse, Wing Sze Ng, Fung Ching Laam Natalie, Ringo Lo Wing Tao, Vunkwan Tam, Simone
演出者： 謝恩旗，吳咏詩，馮靖嵐，譚煥坤，盧永滔，善忘
Technician 技術支援： Chan Chun Hin Igor，Chan Hoi Yi Emily
Wooden structure, plastic chairs, plastic table,
wooden desk with stone inlay
木結構、塑料椅、塑料桌、木桌、玉石
Installation and performance
裝置及表演
Size variable
尺寸可變
Patina Processing is a modest factory setting with six artist performers scrubbing a small wooden desk in the middle, providing their grease and sweat for patina that renders a mellow lustre.
Each processing time slot would be 30 minutes long, in which workers could switch seats every 10 minutes to work on a different area.
Michelle Tam Man Ching
譚敏晴
2021
海外未倒流藝術家與歷任僱主僱佣糾紛調停互助小組舉辦：我不知道如何避免被壓榨不過我仍在摸索研討會
An employment dispute mediation mutual aid group between overseas artists and previous employers presents: I don’t know how to avoid being exploited, but I’m still trying symposium
主持人：譚綽琳 Jessie Cheuk Lam Tam
📆16.06.2021
🕣20:30 HKT
💻 Microsoft team
🔠廣東話進行conducted in Cantonese
https://teams.live.com/meet/94231525802748
「發條麗姿」過去發表多個現場表演，包括獨立以及集體創作， 臨近展覽尾聲，「發條麗姿」有幸邀請到參展藝術家譚綽琳（目前於荷蘭Frank Mohr Institute 修讀繪畫碩士課程），發表線上現場表演。
在6月16日晚上8時半，譚綽琳在是次研討會中訴說她在過去藝術勞動經驗的掙扎：從一股傻勁到學會面對/ 避免種種糾紛。譚綽琳是個創作著眼於「失敗」卻無法面對失敗的藝術家，她的作品親密、頹廢、易於收納、方便攜帶、不太長久，她希望從作品中學習不完美，並與世界進行協商。她喜歡帶遺棄物回工作室聊天，久而久之物料也想「成為什麼」。她情感多多，常藉故發揮傷春悲秋，說要縫製生活現實並擁抱脆弱作為人類的本質。
關鍵字: 藝術勞動/ 傻勁 /年青/ 經驗/ 無償 / 免費 /藝術家費用 /現金劵/ 壓榨 / 學習/ 金錢糾紛 / 剝削/ 薪金/ 藝術空間/僱員/僱主/ 最低工資
“A Clockwork Lai Chi” has performed a number of live performances in the past, including solo and collective performances. Towards the end of the exhibition, "Clockwork Lai Chi” is pleasant to invite participating artist Jessie Cheuk Lam Tam(currently studying the Master of Painting Programme at the Frank Mohr Institute in the Netherlands) to publish online a live performance.
The seminar will be held at 8:30PM, 16 June 2021, Jessie will tell about her struggles in the past labor experience in the art field: from being simple-minded to learning to face/avoid all kinds of disputes. She is an artist who focuses on failure but is not able to face failure in reality. Her work is a game of intimacy, wherein everything is fragile, child-like, low-brow, easy-to-make, and not meant to last but easy to bring along. Such an everyday practice to look at, and live with what we have lost and what we have compromised, she negotiates the world on a day-to-day basis for a hidden process of self-revelation. Jessie always falls into the hole of human feelings. She said, "I want to fill in the gaps with life’s realities, and embrace vulnerability as human nature." Listening to the unheard voice of unwanted materials, her work also grows a reflexive response of “whatever they want to be something at the moment”.
Keyword: labor in art field/simple-minded/young/experience/free/free/artist fee/cash voucher/squeeze/study/money dispute/exploitation/salary/art space/employee/employer/minimum wage