On the journey:Artist Exchange with artist Tiffany Sia

At the book launch held at TheCube Project Space, Tiffany Sia will engage in a conversation with film scholar Jean Ma. Meanwhile, at the Hong-Gah Museum screening, in addition to Tiffany Sia’s work 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯, the event will also feature 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘐 and 𝘐𝘐 by artist Sow-Yee Au. A discussion between the two artists will be moderated by scholar and film critic Timmy Chen.

 

➤ About 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯 (2023)
Directed by artist and filmmaker Tiffany Sia, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯 imagines a restless landscape film in Taiwan. Visiting scenic locations shot by King Hu, the short experiments with the road movie genre and its intersection with the martial arts epic. Sia meets actor Shih Chun, who played the protagonist in Hu’s 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘯, 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘡𝘦𝘯 and other wuxia films, as he guides the quest to re-encounter the iconic landscapes where 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘯 was shot. He counsels on the perfect conditions of mist and weather. Yet, in the journey through the mountains of Dayuling, the sublime landscape of King Hu remains ever elusive. She later visits the elementary school of Indigenous filmmaker and principal Pilin Yapu of the Atayal tribe. Absent of conventional subtitles, the essay film employs text burned into the center of the frame as a mode of translation, sometimes refusing total disclosure.

Commissioned by Fondazione Prada for the exhibition PARAVENTI, the work is reconstructed in installation form as a video sculpture against a readymade folding screen. Probing the ways institutions show landscape art that serve to often codify a national imaginary of space and territory, specifically in the case of contemporary exhibition of premodern Chinese aesthetics, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯 distorts and defamiliarizes the landscape form as both moving image and object.

 

➤ About Tiffany Sia
Tiffany Sia is an artist, filmmaker, and writer who was born in Hong Kong and currently lives and works in New York. Sia’s films have screened at TIFF Toronto International Film Festival, MoMA Doc Fortnight, New York Film Festival, Flaherty Film Seminar and elsewhere. The artist and filmmaker has previously had solo exhibitions at Artists Space, New York; Felix Gaudlitz, Vienna; and Maxwell Graham Gallery, New York. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at Fondazione Prada, Italy; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Seoul Museum of Art, South Korea and elsewhere. Her essays have appeared in 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺, 𝘖𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳, and 𝘓𝘜𝘟 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦. Her first collection of essays, 𝘖𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘧𝘧-𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, was published by Primary Information in 2024. In 2024, Sia was the recipient of the Baloise Art Prize, and in 2022, the George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award.

 

 

/ Guest Speakers and Featuring Works /

 

➤ About Jean Ma
Jean Ma is the Mr. and Mrs. Hung Hing-ying Professor in the Arts at the University of Hong Kong. Her books include 𝘔𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵: 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢; 𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺; and 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢. Other writings have been published in 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘖𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢, 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺, 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘴, and 𝘖𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳. She is the co-editor of “Music, Sound, and Media,” a book series at the University of California Press. Her recent monograph 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱: 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 (available in an open-source digital edition) was a finalist for the 2023 Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards and the 2023 Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present Book Prize.

 

➤ About Sow-Yee Au
Sow-Yee Au was born and grew up in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Sow-Yee now lives and works in Taipei (Taiwan). She is a recipient of Honorable Mentions in the 2021 Taipei Art Award, and a finalist in the 2018 Asia Pacific Breweries Signature Art Prize. Her works focus mainly in questioning, exploring as well as expanding the relation between images, image making, history, politics and power, through video installation and other mediums. Sow-Yee’s works were exhibited in 2023 Sharjah Biennale, 2022 Busan Biennale, MMCA (Seoul), Mori Art Museum (Tokyo), HKW (Berlin), Shanghai Rockbund Art Museum, Singapore Film Festival, BACC (Bangkok) and various other exhibitions and screenings. Sow-Yee co-founded Kuala Lumpur’s Rumah Attap Library and Collective in 2017.

 

» Featured Works «

❶ 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘐: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢, 𝘛𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘶 (2016) | 15’00”
The work is based on an imaginary film studio in Mengkerang, and Ravi the director. Ravi is a character from 𝘈 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘚𝘶𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 (𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘖𝘯𝘦), a video work by Sow-Yee Au in 2014, as part of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵. “Ravi” is also the most common Indian name in Malaysian elementary school textbooks. 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘐: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢, 𝘛𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘶 attempts to borrow techniques from Indian Bollywood films and musical films produced by MP&GI, a film studio based in Hong Kong established by the Malayan film tycoon Loke Wan Tho during the cold war era in the 1950s. 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘐 dismantled the Indian epic Ramayana and many folklore (both the people and “Outsiders” version) as the core narrative text. Sound and image are separated in time and space and the materials are misplaced, forming a kind of “pseudo film”. The installation version also integratescoordinates of various photos, documents, objects, etc. that Ravi “collected” before shooting the “film”. Inquiring into the problematic consciousness of “othering” heterogeneous writing in the process of cultural subjectivity variation, together they form a conscious image constructed by the viewer.

 

❷ 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘐𝘐: 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘖𝘯 (2016) | 13’52”
Using both film and fiction as a method, Sow-Yee took up the heteronym, Ravi, a fictional filmmaker lost in the forest of Mengkerang, imagining and recreating a film studio as well as its’ ghosts and remnants. Mengkerang is an imaginary island/place located somewhere within the South China Sea (whichever you would like to call it). 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘐𝘐: 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘖𝘯 intertwined the imagined and history, bringing together Ravi’s unfinished script, documents and a film. It is an attempt to uncover the complexity and shifting conditions of border-making, myth-making and to remap (historical) time as well as power structure through the influence of post-war film industry in the region. The narrative of both the script and film reveals Loke, also a film tycoon and an influential figure in the history of film industry during the post-war era, transforming into a secret agent, depicting numerous characters and embarking on a journey crossing the borders of time, countries, folklores and mythologies. Through the fractured and transfiguring “party” that Loke has attended, these other selves looks into keywords such as politics, borders, mobility and alienation.

 

➤ About Timmy Chen
Timmy Chih-Ting Chen is Assistant Professor in Cultural Studies in the School of Arts and Social Sciences at Hong Kong Metropolitan University. Dr. Chen has published in 𝘈 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘞𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘢𝘳-𝘸𝘢𝘪 (Wiley Blackwell), 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘴, 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢 (Routledge), 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯 (HKU Press), 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘊𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭, 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯, and 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺. He has served as jury for the Hong Kong Fresh Wave International Short Film Festival, the ifva Awards, and the Singapore International Film Festival. He has worked as producer on artist Tiffany Sia’s film, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯, which has been featured at MoMA Doc Fortnight, Open City Documentary Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024.

 

Organizer: Chew’s Culture Foundation Hong-Gah Museum
Collaborator: TheCube Project Space