Performa is presenting ENCORE, an in-depth full-length documentation of the Performa 19 Biennial. Until May 31, 10 Performa commissions from 2019 run on a 24/7 loop, streaming on www.performa-arts.org. Taiwanese artist Su Hui-Yu's (蘇匯宇) "The White Waters (白水)" will be featured every day at 7pm Eastern Standard Time, or 7am Taiwan Standard Time.
Su Hui-Yu's "The White Waters" (2019) is a Performa commission that Performa 2019 co-commissioned with Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-Lab). The work is based on Tian Qiyuan's (田啟元) 'White Water' from 1993 and the classic Ming-era novel "Legend of the White Snake (白蛇傳)," coupled with dynamic images and live performances to revisit various takes on Chinese culture, religion, and ethics, in addition to exploring the issue of gender identity and the sensual passions.
Using large digital projections installed on a theater stage, Su's dreamlike performance will feature New York-based Taiwanese dancer Liu I-Ling (劉奕伶) moving between screens and interpreting the projected transgressive imagery that harkens back to both "The Legend of the White Snake" and "White Water."
"White Water" was presented in 2020 through video installations and live performances at C-LAB’s annual exhibition "Re:Play." The audience could wander through screen installations and live performances while witnessing the changes in imagery and dramatic tension in body movements.
The video installation version of "White Water" will also be exhibited at the Chinese Contemporary Art Center in Manchester, UK, and the Winterthur Art Museum in Switzerland this year.
The full video of the New York stage performance of Su's "White Water" is aired for the first time publicly. For other time slots, works by artists from Thailand, Argentina, France, Iran, Cyprus, Sweden, Hong Kong, Romania, and the United States among others are presented.
For those interested in viewing the series, please visit www.performa-arts.org.