PERFORMANCE ART
Nice To Meet You
Nice To Meet You
"Nice To Meet You”, by Monique Yim and Wiency Wong - Performed in London, 2018
Artist:
Monique Yim (Performance Art) - Performed in Hong Kong, 2016.02.07
Monique Yim (Performance Art), Wiency Wong (Poem) - Performed in London, 2018.03.03
Monique Yim (Performance Art), Wiency Wong (Poem) - Performed in London, 2018.03.03
Monique Yim (Performance Art), Wiency Wong (Poem) - Performed in Dusseldorf, 2018.03.11
Media:
Performance Art - Performed in Hong Kong, 2016.02.07
Performance Art, Poem - Performed in London, 2018.03.03
Performance Art, Poem - Performed in Dusseldorf, 2018.03.11
Performance Art, Poem - Performed in London, 2018.03.03
Performance Art, Poem - Performed in Dusseldorf, 2018.03.11
Work Duration:
20 minutes
Work Material：
10 wine glasses, a piece of glassware, edible bamboo charcoal powder, double-sided tape, a bunch of baby’s-breath flower, white gasoline, lighter (and paper strips, in London 2018 and Dusseldorf 2018)
Work Description:
First, Yim appeared with double-sided tape stuck onto her face, stood straight and held a piece of glass on hand, with 10 wine glasses placed on it. 9 of the wine glasses were filled with edible bamboo charcoal powder, and 1 filled with white gasoline.
(In the version of London 2018 and Dusseldorf 2018, before Yim had started, Wong went to the wall and inserted some paper slips one by one into the cracks and scuffs of the brick wall, one each at a time. Wong had written a poem named “Nice to Meet You” and divided it into different parts. Excerpts from the poem are then shown on the paper slips and the audience responded by taking away the paper slips and reading them after the performance ended.)
(In the version of London 2018 and Dusseldorf 2018, before Yim had started, Wong went to the wall and inserted some paper slips one by one into the cracks and scuffs of the brick wall, one each at a time. Wong had written a poem named “Nice to Meet You” and divided it into different parts. Excerpts from the poem are then shown on the paper slips and the audience responded by taking away the paper slips and reading them after the performance ended.)
Yim held up one glass with charcoal powder like saying cheers. She drank the charcoal powder, looked up and blew out black ash to the air like a bomb. She dropped the glass, and it was broken on the ground. She repeated this process for 8 more times until all 9 glasses were broken. Her face also went dark by the blowing action of charcoal powder. Meanwhile, she started to have natural physical reaction like coughing, feeling nauseous and hard to breathe due to the inhalation of charcoal powder.
Next, Yim put a bunch of baby’s-breath flowers into the last glass with white gasoline, and then lit the flower with fire. The flower was burnt into ashes. She then dropped the glass and it was broken on the ground.
Finally, Yim knelt down, stuck her face to the ground and kissed the ground. The broken glass pieces and black ashes were then stuck on her face and palms. Her skin was injured and bled a little bit. She stood up, walked to the audience and shook hands with them one by one saying “Nice to meet you”. Performance ended.
The Poem - Nice To Meet You
Nice to meet you is said at steady breath right
But I never stop panting running for life
We are all homeless and people stare at us
As if there’s a large tumor on our faces
That is not transmissible but makes us fight
Deleted identities, gone out the light
we leave home and take “journey to death” one night
Insects pollinate and you aren’t curious
Why isn’t it nice to meet you?
In the place called home I see death with my eyes
Not by cruise we travel but toy boats sometimes
Souls are sealed beneath the sea or go places
Everything may seem to you an exodus
That they keep moving until you all say aye
And say nice to meet you
Too
Artist Statement:
It is a performance artwork addressed to refugees and wars. The work is also a reflection on exile, migration, hesitation and relationship between people. The theme is about social public, political, identity, and human rights issue, and is also related to cultural discourse and criticism.
Using images, symbols, symbolic meaning and metaphors created by the body, the materials and interactions with audience, in addition it questions about wars, violence, peace, equality, justice, freedom, and it ponders and examines “the other” and “the spectator”.
Flames of war, booms, dust, flowers, blood, refugees...
Drifting and collapsing, entering or retreating, living or dead...
Neoliberalism, globalization and regional income inequality…
What means dangerous? What means safe? What is system? What is morality?
Rejecting? Open? Who is being isolated? Who is being accepted?
All those visible and non-visible, wars in reality, wars in ideologies…
The borders between nations and races, the borders between classes…
The geographical boundaries, the imaginary boundaries…
How to define war and violence? What are real peace, equality, justice and freedom?
The war and its reasons behind, reality or illusion, spectacle or simulation…
The other and the spectator, existence and disregard…
In the London and Dusseldorf version, the metaphor and imagery of the Middle-Easterners, Jews and Muslims praying in front of Jerusalem's Wailing Wall is created, by the action of placing poem written paper strips into the cracks of the wall. These people are the main population of the refugees who are exiled, immigrated and relocated in the European Countries.
In the London and Dusseldorf version, the metaphor and imagery of the Middle-Easterners, Jews and Muslims praying in front of Jerusalem's Wailing Wall is created, by the action of placing poem written paper strips into the cracks of the wall. These people are the main population of the refugees who are exiled, immigrated and relocated in the European Countries.
Exhibition/Showcase:
“Crossing Border | Border Crossing — International Festival of Crossing Media”, Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre, Hong Kong
Date of the Live Performance, Second Shown to the Public:
2018.03.03
Venue:
AMP Studio, London, United Kingdom
