"Strangers" - Performed in Hong Kong, 2016

PERFORMANCE ART
Strangers

Performance Art & Poem

STRANGERS by Monique Yim & Wiency Wong

“Hong Kong Art Week 2016: Gallery Walk”, Central, Hong Kong, 2016

“STRANGERS” Exhibition of Performance Art by Monique Yim and Poem by Wiency Wong

Date：2016.12.09 – 2017.01.04
Time：4 – 11pm
Venue：Boom Art Gallery Bar, G/F, 48 Sai Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Entrance：Free entrance; please support Boom Art Gallery Bar
Enquiry：Monique Yim ( 60967116 / moniqueyim@yahoo.com.hk )

About the Exhibition and Artwork:

An artist and a writer, a same-sex Hong Kong couple engaged in Prague, collaborate this artwork “Strangers” ( live performance art showcased on 2016.11.03 “Hong Kong Art Week 2016”; documentary exhibited on 2016.11.26 “Hong Kong Pride Parade 2016” ) with performance art and poem to illustrate the situation and their thoughts over the issue of same-sex marriage equality, and to raise public awareness towards the issue: two people loving each other are not capable of safeguarding the other and the relationship is known as strangers under the law, are walking backward, but to nowhere/ to somewhere with no entrance and no destination. Hence, they are forever men of no land in here where they cannot build their own family.

At Hong Kong City Hall Marriage Registry, Monique Yim started her performance by walking backward in wedding suit. She held hundreds of roses on one hand while the other hand holding scissors cut the roses into pieces, thus broken petals fell on the ground. Meanwhile along the same route, Wiency Wong wrote her reverse poem on ground with the theme of same-sex marriage equality. They passed by the Hong Kong Observation Wheel, Edinburgh Place, the Court of Final Appeal Building (Former Legislative Council), Statue Square, which are typical locations for wedding photography, and they walked along Des Voeux Road Central, Pedder Street, Pedder Building, Theatre Lane, Queen’s Road Central, Entertainment Building and D’aguilar Street all the way to Lan Kwai Fong, that is said to be a popular marriage proposal spot, and at this end point of the work, they finished the poem and burned the remains of roses after this 1 km in 2 hours.

In the beginning and at the end of the poem, Wiency Wong borrowed and divided the famous Irish gay writer Oscar Wilde’s quote, “This suspense is terrible, I hope it will last.”

This suspense is terrible:
On the earth that is sufficient to all
The two souls endlessly search for spellbinding promises
They are infatuated with that sparkling loop
With Law sealed

I am in love with a Stranger
Two right hands together are both right
What is left?
196 Minus 21 there is no land we belong to

For an elixir of love we say congratulations
We are glad to know that you have your rights
Here, the sparkling loop on the left
Vanishing into the open air
Sleep in the quiet air with souls cremated
And we evanesce in this land
I hope it will last.

I hope it will last.
And we evanesce in this land
Sleep in the quiet air with souls cremated
Vanishing into the open air

Here, the sparkling loop on the left
We are glad to know that you have your rights
For an elixir of love we say congratulations

196 Minus 21 there is no land we belong to
What is left?
Two right hands together are both right
I am in love with a stranger
With Law sealed

They are infatuated with that sparkling loop
The two souls endlessly search for spellbinding promises
On the earth that is sufficient to all
This suspense is terrible.

About “Queer Series”:

“Strangers” is the 9 th artwork of the “Queer Series”. After 8 years of working as visual artist and performance artist, Monique Yim has been actively creating “Queer Series” artworks on some particular themes related to her, namely queer, homosexuals, sex and gender, since 2 years ago. These have drawn attention after being showcased in various exhibitions in Hong Kong, Shenzhen (China), Kunming (China), Prague (Czech), Brno (Czech), Budapest (Hungary), Nove Zamky (Slovakia), Novi Sad (Serbia), etc.

CREDITS

Photography：
Joyce Chan
Wiency Wong
Nicole Pun
Wong Hoi Ki

Artwork Assistant：
Joyce Chan

Technical Assistant：
Vianca Fish

Invited and Committed by：
2016.11.03 Live Performance Art Showcase, “Hong Kong Art Week 2016”
2016.11.26 Photo Documentary Exhibition, “Hong Kong Pride Parade 2016”
2016.12.09–2017.01.04 Photo Documentary Exhibition, Boom Art Gallery Bar

Media Interviewed by：
Hong Kong 01

Acknowledgment：
Boom Art Gallery Bar
Hong Kong Art Week 2016
Hong Kong Pride Parade 2016
Hong Kong 01