Title: “More China Than You # 6”［我比你中国］
Performance
UP-ON First International Live Art Festival, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
October 2008
As an ethnic Chinese born outside of China, in post-colonial Singapore one is often mistaken for being from China and face various stereo-typing of identity. This stereotyping is also apparent when meeting Chinese from mainland China who have various expectations of us such as the ability to speak fluently, perfect Chinese or Mandarin language instead of other languages or unfamiliarity with traditions. My past works had confronted such issues as well as raising the complexity of identity politics in the age of post-colonialism, globalization and multi-culturalism. Since the founding of the present state of modern China there had been rapid and volatile changes. As Singapore had over the years of consistent progress and development gained a confidence of its own national identity, it is being dazed and astounded by the rise of China as a world economic and political power and today seemed likely to veer itself towards its historical roots as a majority of its population and leadership is of Chinese descent. The world at large too is mesmerized, as the global capitalistic world economy is just as anxious to embrace China into their ever-expanding markets as much as the largest nation state of communist ideals is willing to compromise themselves in order to enrich their less developed economy. What position should one take in the face of such geo-political contradictions? How can one reconcile one’s true identity and maintain the sovereignty of art at the risk of losing the purity of our work without compromising into being a tool of the state or a product for the market?
Performance
UP-ON First International Live Art Festival, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
October 2008
As an ethnic Chinese born outside of China, in post-colonial Singapore one is often mistaken for being from China and face various stereo-typing of identity. This stereotyping is also apparent when meeting Chinese from mainland China who have various expectations of us such as the ability to speak fluently, perfect Chinese or Mandarin language instead of other languages or unfamiliarity with traditions. My past works had confronted such issues as well as raising the complexity of identity politics in the age of post-colonialism, globalization and multi-culturalism. Since the founding of the present state of modern China there had been rapid and volatile changes. As Singapore had over the years of consistent progress and development gained a confidence of its own national identity, it is being dazed and astounded by the rise of China as a world economic and political power and today seemed likely to veer itself towards its historical roots as a majority of its population and leadership is of Chinese descent. The world at large too is mesmerized, as the global capitalistic world economy is just as anxious to embrace China into their ever-expanding markets as much as the largest nation state of communist ideals is willing to compromise themselves in order to enrich their less developed economy. What position should one take in the face of such geo-political contradictions? How can one reconcile one’s true identity and maintain the sovereignty of art at the risk of losing the purity of our work without compromising into being a tool of the state or a product for the market?