Performance view on Terra Omnium, Zurich Sustainability Week , Mar 2022, Zurich, Switzerland

Be a canvas~ performance


2022, ceramic objects, canvas costume, transparent thread, clips, flowers, soil, performance duration 25mins, dimensions variable




                         It is an extension of the work of the previous installation, a performance work in collaboration with a dancer and a cellist.

Clothes are objects that have been with us every day since we were born, an essential second skin that reflects our status, age, personality and preferences, and sometimes is a flag that carries the symbol of nationality.  Until the mid-19 th century, almost all clothing was custom-made by hand, either by ourselves or by professional tailors, and it usually took weeks or even months to produce a piece of clothing. Clothes used to be our spiritual sustenance, passed on by our ancestors to carry family hopes and history. But after the industrial revolution, the rapid development of the textile and manufacturing industries, globalization and consumerism, and the growing interest in satisfying needs as quickly as possible gave birth to fast fashion.

The work "be a canvas" represented a contemplation on fundamental values of human society and on how twisted they become under the pressure of modern realm. Fast fashion, overconsumption, loss of unity with surrounding environment, loss of connection with inner self... These and many other processes happen while we get further and further from what we are and forget our own fragility against the power of nature. The name of the artwork is an invitation to become more self-conscious and more aware of these things. It is also a reminder that all changes start with our own actions.In the end, a performer becomes a canvas, inviting the audience to “decorate” her with fresh flowers, getting into an act of shared empathic (un)learning about who we are as humans. The act of giving is regarded as a poetic act,  and the act of receiving by the performers ends the performance.