Transi(en)t: the Reproduction Process of the Asian Body

Author: Rikey CHENG
Origin: Taiwan Digital Art and Information Cenger
Time: 2014, APR
Keywords: Asia, Body art, sound, subjectivity in Asia

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Abstract:

As the common framework of understanding shared by the audience and the artists, Asia not only opens up the horizons through which we stretch beyond our status quo, but may also define our dialogue relation in an intangible way. And the materiality demonstrated by individual Asian bodies is reminiscent of the goals of performance art using bodies as the media for creation.

“Project Glocal: Transi(en)t” is an experimenting project co-organized by the independent curator Dayang Yraola and No Man’s Land in early 2014. This project invites three artists respectively from the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia to reside in Taipei for a month and create works in collaboration with three Taiwanese artists. Before the end of their residency, the three pairs of artists will present their respective live performances that cover the forms of sound art, performance art and media art.

The Body Gesture between 0 and 1—“TYPE: ZERO” by Mannet Villariba and Lee Bo-ting

Author: SHIH, Min-Chieh
Origin: 藝外ARTITUDE Magazine No56
Time: 2014, May
Keywords: Technology Media, Project Glocal, Michio Kaku (加來道雄)

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Abstract

Surrounded by the echoing voice of Michio Kaku(加來道雄)'s speech about human's future, the forms of technology and performer's body kept shifting with each other. It was the projection of the future, and it immediately turned around to highlight his anxiety which came from being unable to describe our social structure. All that forced us to try to reflect this reality.

“Type: Zero” is a collaborative work by Taiwanese artist Lee Bo-ting and Filipino artist Mannet Villariba who participates in the “Project Glocal.” This project seeks to bring artists from different cities together to create more possibilities for dialogue through their diverse backgrounds and contexts of creation. Instead of producing a grand narrative beyond national borders, this project aims at challenging the boundaries among different issues. Villariba employs the theory of macro-evolution developed by Japanese American scientist Michio Kaku as the context of his performance, namely “Type: Zero.” The theory identifies three types of civilization. The first is a “planetary civilization” that controls the energy of the whole planet. The second is a “stellar civilization” that controls the energy radiated from its own star. The third is a “galactic civilization” that utilizes the energy in its own galaxy. Humanity is currently in a state between type zero and the first type. Michio Kaku claims that there are two divergent attitudes in the transition from type zero to type one. The first is a pluralistic culture that emphasizes the boundlessness brought by technologies. The second is terrorism that underscores the reactions made by technologies. Villariba attempts to symbolize the borderless fluidity through specific objects and unusual body gesture, that is, combining his body with technological objects.