Transcultural Collaboration

"Transcultural Collaboration" is more than just an academic journey; it's an artistic odyssey that bridges continents and cultures. In this unique international semester program in the arts and design, 30 participants from diverse creative disciplines come together to explore, collaborate, and transcend boundaries. What sets this program apart is its focus on fostering transcultural artistic connections and experimentation, resulting in two powerful performances that leave an indelible mark.

Transcultural Collaboration is a unique international semester programme in the arts and design. In collaboration with partner institutions in Asia and Europe, 30 participants from all arts and design disciplines have the opportunity to explore different cultural contexts and collaborate on artistic experiments with open outcomes.

"Tanhua": A Tribute to the Global Workforce: One of the transformative outcomes of "Transcultural Collaboration" is "Tanhua," a performance that pays homage to the unsung heroes of globalization. Chinese workers, in the largest migration in history, have shaped the products that have become an integral part of our lives. From the humble Chinese farming village to the iPhones in our pockets and the Nikes on our feet, "Tanhua" delves into the profound impact of consumption and globalization on the lives of these workers. It's a poignant exploration inspired by the writings of Xu Lizhi, a Foxconn worker whose emotional poems became a voice for the workforce before he tragically took his own life at the tender age of 24.

"Mass Prey": The Abyss of Desire: "Mass Prey," born from the depths of artistic exploration in "Transcultural Collaboration," is a performance that delves into the profound nature of human desires. It reminds us that wishes are invaluable, but the price we pay often comes in the form of disappointments. This journey into the abyss of desire takes us to the very bottom, where we often wait for fulfillment to descend from the heavens, only to realize that it often arrives empty.

Tanhua

By Marco Spitzbarth (Fine Arts/Digital Art, Zurich University of the Arts), Ingjerd Holten Ytterdal (Fine Arts/Painting, Academy of Visual Arts, Baptist University Hong Kong), Leonard So (Fine Arts/Theory, Academy of Visual Arts, Baptist University Hong Kong), Diego Kohn (Sound/Zurich University of the Arts).

Intro

Chinese workers make up the largest migration in history, and it is consumption and globalization, this chain that begins with a Chinese farming village and ends up with iPhones in our pockets and Nikes’ on our feet, which has changed these workers' lives. Xu Lizhi, a Foxconn worker, channeled his emotions through poems before he committed suicide at the age of 24.

Concept

Through movement, sound, audio recordings, time and space, our goal is to evoke the audience’s emotions connected to the meaningless boredom of working behind the assembly line. The three hour performance paints a picture of migrant labourer’s invisible struggle of finding purpose in 14 hours shift of repetitive movements. Once in a while, the silence is broken by a tired voice reciting Xu Lizhi’s poem:

I FALL ASLEEP, JUST STANDING LIKE THAT

The paper before my eyes fades yellow
With a steel pen I chisel on it uneven black
Full of working words
Workshop, assembly line,

machine, work card, overtime, wages…
They’ve trained me to become docile
Don’t know how to shout or rebel
How to complain or denounce
Only how to silently suffer exhaustion
When I first set foot in this place
I hoped only for that grey pay slip

on the tenth of each month
To grant me some belated solace
For this I had to grind away my corners,

grind away my words
Refuse to skip work, refuse sick leave,

refuse leave for private reasons
Refuse to be late, refuse to leave early
By the assembly line I stood

straight like iron, hands like flight,
How many days, how many nights
Did I – just like that – standing fall asleep?

Xu Lizhi

Process

Inspired by our performance in our previous work, in MCA (Ming Contemporary Museum) Shanghai, our starting point was consumerism, mass production, and collection of BIG DATA from online shopping. Realizing the topic was broad and had multiple layers of meaning, we decided to narrow it down. We changed the title to “Traces of Shanghai” and constructed an installation made of found objects around campus. A hula hoop, steel wires, and a component box sparked our imagination connecting roles and items to our personalities. The mass-produced hula hoop with its historically incorporated spiritual symbolism from Shanghai, works continuously on the consumer connected to BIG DATA. A playful performance with defined roles utilizing scrap products unfolded.

When welcoming a new group member, we challenged ourselves and built trust by climbing Suicide Cliff. We made it to the top, but did not choose the easiest way…… was it a sign?

Adding sound to the performance required a continuous process of coordinating with the movements while we constructed the narrative. Improvisation became our recurring tool while continuously recording our rehearsals. As we continued to challenge ourselves, the performance became bigger and bolder in visuals, movements and sound until we realized that less is more and narrowed down to a minimalistic version.

Result

The performance intentionally lasted for three hours in the exhibition hall away from the other exhibition which strengthened and supported our concept of being “hidden” or “forgotten”. The high ceiling and factory feeling created the right lights, acoustics’ and ambience suitable for the mass production narrative. The title: Tanhua expressing boredom and sadness juxtaposed with the beauty of a flower that blooms only once, Tanhua ( 曇花 ) symbolize Xu Lizhi’s short life and moment of glory. The exhibition was supported by prints of the Chinese labour workers poems.

Background, translations and credits: Lizhi killed himself in September 2014 at the age of 24. In late October, the Nào Project— a multilingual blog and journal dedicated to human rights — translated his obituary and poems to “spread awareness [of] the harsh conditions, struggles and aspirations of Chinese migrant workers.”

http://www.transculturalcollaboration.com/tanhua/

Mass Prey

Wishes are priceless and we pay them off with our disappointments, this abyss of desire drags us to the bottom, waiting for fulfilment to drop from heaven but only realising that this fulfilment is empty.

WHAT WOULD YOU BUY NEXT?

MassPrey, a large-scale immersive installation critiques the system of consumerism and describes it as a new form of religion that in the end is exploiting the individual. By interacting with the installation you are lured into the system which also aims to bring your mind to the ethics of big companies who are collecting our data from our habits and interests. Big data is big business and feeds on our craving to buy new goods. The driving forces of consumerism has another unspoken side, the underpaid, badly treated factory workers. The ethics and moral of our new religion is questionable, but we hope our imaginable Temple of Mass Prey and Consumerism will inspire you to think twice the next time you buy something.