Public Programme
Throughout the month-long exhibition we delivered a programme of events, including curator-led tours, a poetry workshop, late openings with performances, and a panel discussion. View documentation below
Artists' Talk (Online)
Saturday 18th March
Curator, Ling Tan, hosted an online talk with State-less 無國界 artists Robert Zhao Renhui, Lo Lai Lai Natalie and Law Yuk Mui, to provide more insight into their works and practices.
View the recording here.
Poetry Workshop
Sunday 19th March
A poetry workshop led by Christy Ku, accomplished poet, spoken word artist and founder of BESEA Poets, a platform for British based East and South East Asian poets, with Daniel York Loh, writer, actor and filmmaker and Associate Artistic Director at Kakilang.
In this workshop, Christy and Daniel guided the participants through creative writing and performance exercises on the key themes of State-Less 無國界 exhibition, such as migration, identity and the environment.
View documentation here.
Late Opening Event, Featuring Performers
Louiseanne Wong & Kerrica Kendall
Wednesday 22nd March
Included a series of improvised and site-responsive and spoken word performances by Louiseanne Wong and Kerrica Kendall, in various locations throughout Two Temple Place, in response to the themes of State-Less 無國界.
Biographies:
Louiseanne Wong (she/they) is a movement artist, dancer, choreographer and coach with Esprit Concrete. Her roots are from Hong Kong, and holds a Bachelor of Music (University of Manchester) and an MA in Choreography (Trinity Laban, London). Her training is in dance (contemporary, hip hop, namely but not limited to Krump and breakdance foundations), soft acrobatics, Parkour and Art du Deplacement, and Chinese Pole.
Louiseanne's expertise and passion allows her to combine Art du Deplacement with Dance and Circus as a means of self-discovery, always curious about the question 'Who am I?'. She sees her movement practice as a way to explore topics and storytelling such as authenticity, identity and heritage, and how these affect an artist's relationship to oneself and others.
Kerrica Kendall (she/they) is a writer and performer from London. Her work is usually as silly as serious and made with fun. They are currently in their second year at Bush Theatre Young Company which will end this summer with an exciting new play. Last year saw their first step into filmmaking after graduating from the filmmaking course at the National Film and Television School. They’ve also trained at New Earth Theatre, National Youth Theatre and The Free Association.
every dollar is a soldier/with money you're a dragon
Live Performances
Friday 24th & Saturday 25th March
‘With money you’re a dragon
Without it you’re a worm
Find a place that you can build on
And a way to hold on firm…’
Two live performances of Kakilang’s award-winning digital collaboration with Two Temple Place.
Juxtaposing the world of privileged, but nevertheless bitter, émigré William Waldorf Astor (who commissioned the building of Two Temple Place) with the harsh experiences of the impoverished first Chinese settlers in London, An-Ting 安婷 and Daniel York Loh create a powerful lament on the immigrant experience, taking in myriad reflections on the need for money and status and the right to call ‘home’ a land that can either reject or embrace you.
Originally commissioned as a live performance, but moved online as necessitated by the pandemic, every dollar is a soldier/with money you’re a dragon returned to the context it was initially intended for: part gig-theatre, part spoken word rap, part concert, performed in the setting that inspired it in a thrilling combination of electronic music and traditional instrumentation –
‘…high walls and paintings and stain-glass shimmer
That bathes… in opulence and balms the stigma’
Text written and performed by Daniel York Loh
Music composed and performed by An-Ting 安婷
With Cheng Yu (pipa) and Wang Xiao (erhu)
Photography by Howard Cheng
Orang Collectif Children's Workshops - Puppetry & Music
Saturday 1st April
In this workshop, interdisciplinary collective, Orang Collectif, taught children how to create their own puppet characters and bring them to life, and how to create musical instruments, using recycled items found around the house. These workshops focused on the use of recycled and repurposed items, encouraging participants to use their creativity.
View the wonderful work made below!
Late Opening Event, Featuring Violinist & Composer Midori Komachi
Wednesday 5th April
Included two sets by accomplished violinist and composer Midori Komachi. Her programme explored the rich cultural heritage of Japan, drawing inspiration from Japanese folk songs, Haiku, and ‘Chashitsu’ (Japanese Tea Room). Through the use of Space (Ma), Timbre and extended techniques on the violin, the sonic landscape evokes tranquility and stillness – sounds that resonate between Japanese and Western cultures.
Biography:
Midori Komachi is an international violinist, composer and writer, who has developed a diverse career in bridging different cultures through music. Her works explore the relationship between music, architecture and cultural heritage of places. Recent projects have included collaborations with Kengo Kuma, Musicity, British Airways, LUSH, OPPO and All Nippon Airways. In 2020 Midori was selected a Musician in Residence Brazil at the British Council and PRS Foundation.
Since her debut as a soloist at the age of 12 with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Komachi has performed extensively in Europe and Japan, appearing in some of the world's most prestigious venues, including Tonhalle Zurich, Tokyo Opera City Hall, Philharmony Warsaw, Wigmore Hall, and the Rector's Palace (Croatia).
A passionate advocate of British and Japanese music, Midori has appeared frequently on BBC Radio 3, World Service, NHK and TV Tokyo. Her writings and translations on British music have been published in Japan, including two books on Delius and Vaughan Williams (Artes Publishing). Currently, Midori is a PhD candidate at Goldsmiths, University of London, where her research is funded by AHRC/CHASE. She is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Queen's University (Canada). Her forthcoming album, Chashitsu – Auditory Tea Room is due to be released via MSCTY label in Autumn 2023.
Community Panel Discussion
Thursday 6th April
A panel discussion hosted by writer, actor and filmmaker and Associate Artistic Director at Kakilang, Daniel York Loh, to unpack the key themes and issues highlighted in State-less 無國界 exhibition.
Daniel was joined by Yuen Chan (academic), Wang Wei (exhibiting artist), and Diana Yeh (academic), who are all engaged in their own practices that explore the exhibition’s core themes of identity, geographies, borders, migration narratives, the homogenisation of experiences and identities within Southeast and East Asian communities, the ethics of representation and more.
Biographies:
Yuen Chan (Academic) is a senior lecturer in the Department of Journalism at City, University of London. As a print and broadcast journalist in Hong Kong, Yuen covered news in the territory in the years leading up to and after the handover of sovereignty from Britain to China. She has also been a correspondent stationed in Shanghai and Beijing. Yuen was previously senior lecturer at the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Wang Wei (Exhibiting Artist) is a photographer based in London and from China. She graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing.
Her interest in photography is wide and varied, and her current specialisations are in portraits, still life, interiors, city landscapes and architecture. For the images, She likes them from an ordinary perspective, not exaggerated, but with fine details. She loves natural lights, calm composition, and with its perspective.
In 2006, her work was exhibited at the ZKM Museum in Germany. The work was also published in the accompanying book, 'Totalstadt. Beijing Case. High-Speed Urbanisation in China.'
In 2009 her portrait series 'Standard Room' was commended for the Taylor Wessing Prize and exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery.
In 2018, she was part of ‘209 Women' project. To mark 100 years since some women achieved the right to vote, we aim to take over parliament with 209 new photographic portraits of all female MPs, shot exclusively by female photographers, and shown in the Palace of Westminster at Portcullis House.
In 2021, she was part of INSIDE OUT: Dyslexia: Beautiful Minds project at Design Museum.
Diana Yeh (Academic) is Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Culture and the Creative Industries and Associate Dean of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (SCC) at City, University of London.
She is Founder of eseahub and Principal Investigator of the project, ‘Responding to COVID-19 Anti-Asian Racial Violence through Community Care, Solidarity and Resistance’. Recent articles: ‘Becoming “British East Asian and Southeast Asian”: Anti-racism, Chineseness, and Political Love in the Creative and Cultural Industries’ (2021) and ‘COVID-19, Anti-Asian Racial Violence and The Borders of Chineseness’ (2020).
