There he is without a proper diagnosis
Duration: 1'10''
Year: 2016, Beijing, China
Single screen installation with sound
During my stay in Beijing China in October 2016 I felt the oppressive pressure towards any type of marginal groups, communities as well as ordinary people. On a number of occasions, when the subject of homosexuality occurred in conversations the subject was avoided. People are afraid of enquiring or reacting, even in very private situations.
Although I looked western to the Chinese people I met, I also come from an oppressive culture and it was inevitable for me to reflect my view on this through my performance piece ‘There he is without proper diagnosis’
In the performance I wanted to create an unsettling situation where a queer dystopian figure creates a mist and extinguishes an invisible flame. The powder creates a fog which alludes the ‘clouding over’ which happens when I spoke of my lifestyle in China.
The stamps on the wall are a reflection of the control mechanism the state has over its people. How many people have been filed, documented and recorded? During the video there is an unseen menacing force at play which comes alive through the shouts of the people living in the housing block reacting to my performance. The residents were curious but too paranoid to ask what was happening.
The performance exploits this paranoia whilst challenging established values.