Revolution is not a onetime event. Riot, Resist Rise. A internal rapture of the senses in a azure dream, with a state of purpose that fills infinity. Intention awakes to the duality of her complex nature. The posture of time stands still, its a sequence of happenings. An idea can be stillborn, born, dead or alive, for “your”eternity or immortal. In this moment, shall we call it now, today it is alive, we witness the vision transforming. Turn to face, Face the strange,a fascinating process launching the making in effect while marinating, the affect is delivered moving rapid while it grows limb by limb to form the body.
Coachella Valley Art Center
Xiouping & Box Carter
Agency 11
12m performance video loop
The white male has been a dominant force in American culture for decades. The performance conveys the dismantling of the cis white heteromale normative represented by a bag over the man’s head and handcuffed, in a powerless position, on his knees, naked. In the Buddhist tradition of Tonsure, a monk’s hair is shaved as a sign of religious devotion and humility. A gender-neutral non-binary individual appears in all black to shave the head of this power structure. In recent decades, the white power structure has been “eroded” from the perspective of this power structure, while a new age of diversity is emerging among the remaining populous. It is a humbling experience for the power structure. Especially given the fact if the non-binary is female, we are relieved of the exploitation of such bodies and the tables have turned on who exploitation takes prisoner, and yet, in such contexts is it possible the power structure wants the pain? There is no fight to the contrary of what is occurring, it’s a curious thing to consider if there is a twisted enjoyment of this process, or if it is the stench of resignation. A helicopter hums in the background, representing a last ditch effort of the power structure to distract, desperate, and flailing to pull back the hands of time. However, the all-black non-binary individual is only temporarily distracted; it is merely background noise while the inevitable destiny of this man’s hair marches forward. The position of this power structure flips the typical narrative, it is normally the white male power structure in the dominant position. That is changing. There is nothing the structure can do in the context of this work. There is nowhere to run, the setting is void of resources that have any chance of benefiting such attempts. The surreal, undefined location is a representation of our collective agreements and societal norms. As he is thrown into the ground in the end, the ceremony is completed. We witness the physical manifestation of humility. Nobody was injured, as the cutting of one’s hair is a painless process and there is regrowth. However, the dead hair follicles lay on the dirt ground, and now the entire body is bare from head to toe, unable to hide even the phallic male symbol. It is a cultural shift manifesto. The cultural form of society is undergoing an evolutionary process. The promise of humanity and the prefrontal cortex is our potential for eventual unification. While there remains primitive territorial battles (albeit both intellectual and geographical in the current age), nature has its methods of balance in the realm of cultural narratives. In this context we have the opportunity to witness a representation of nature balancing out centuries of an inequitable society and interspecies relationships. No shift occurs in a vacuum at one moment. It takes innumerable tiny adjustments, and thus in this video medium the playback is looped. To view it once and be destroyed would deem the narrative fleeting and happenstance. The indefinite, saturating repetitive loop is reflective of this reality. Time is indeed a construct.
Kill Your Inner Copy
(x2) 4’ x 8’ plywood, poster board images, wheat paste, acrylic spray paint, ink
In the sign works, these ideas of repetition and power structure dismantling are represented in an alternative medium. Each piece of plywood consists of two sides, one seen and unseen. One’s initial encounter with this work will only experience a single part of the work, and will never witness the alternative; unless of course they are flipped. The cis white heteromale normative power structure is dwindling. The repetitive nature of the naked images forces one to reckon with this inevitability. The medium of choice with wheat paste and posterboard like aesthetic is typical of advertisements. For this reason we can interpret it as such, the narrative of our culture is being advertised to indeed be shifting away from the centuries old power structure, albeit not without numerous remaining strongholds. In these boards, spray paint is used as well which is indicative of a rebellious nature. Each board underneath the images has been thoroughly spray painted. We do see the words “kill your inner copy” spray painted in this work, and yet there are copies images being copied galore. It is a violent request for something that cannot be killed. Despite not being clearly visible, it demands recognition of an undercurrent permeating from within these forms. Unable to see the spray paint in its full form is irrelevant. However, this also means they lack any relevance, and in fact may be an act of primacy for the whole piece. “Tenant Parking Only” signage aesthetic brings the public square into fruition, and cohabitates with the demands of both the “advertisement” and the rebellion, or what one may call more of a “balance.” This particular public sign may also be interpreted as a failed attempt of the legal fallacies and narratives that have attempted to engulf a perceived “other.” Now the story is being corrected for who is perceived to be the “tenant.” The old power structures' perceptions of this definition have become immaterial. In the context of being placed with the remaining forms of this sign structure, we observe a full-scale embodiment of societal acclimatization. Note: the 3 QR codes on the naked side take the observer to separate digital landscapes for each individual artist and the collective unit. On the “back” of this work, there is a very different visual topography. “NOT RATED” in bold orange exists on the bare naked plywood on one piece. On the other, repetitive patterns of QR codes are all that exist (with the undercurrent of the spray paint aesthetic lingering). This form of QR codes beckons the world of 3-dimensional matter to be siphoned away into algorithmic terrain. There are no naked bodies on these sides of these works. Yet, they are there regardless if witnessed or not. On the other side of both is the truth of a reconstructing cultural history. There is a start juxtaposition in the contrast between the banality of a desire to get lost in a digital landscape and unrating, and the naked reality of what is being conceived. Each part relies on the alternate. In this regard, it is a curious thing to decide and observe where interpretations settle, for what reason, and by whom.
Xiouping & Box Carter
Agency 11
12m performance video loop
The white male has been a dominant force in American culture for decades. The performance conveys the dismantling of the cis white heteromale normative represented by a bag over the man’s head and handcuffed, in a powerless position, on his knees, naked. In the Buddhist tradition of Tonsure, a monk’s hair is shaved as a sign of religious devotion and humility. A gender-neutral non-binary individual appears in all black to shave the head of this power structure. In recent decades, the white power structure has been “eroded” from the perspective of this power structure, while a new age of diversity is emerging among the remaining populous. It is a humbling experience for the power structure. Especially given the fact if the non-binary is female, we are relieved of the exploitation of such bodies and the tables have turned on who exploitation takes prisoner, and yet, in such contexts is it possible the power structure wants the pain? There is no fight to the contrary of what is occurring, it’s a curious thing to consider if there is a twisted enjoyment of this process, or if it is the stench of resignation. A helicopter hums in the background, representing a last ditch effort of the power structure to distract, desperate, and flailing to pull back the hands of time. However, the all-black non-binary individual is only temporarily distracted; it is merely background noise while the inevitable destiny of this man’s hair marches forward. The position of this power structure flips the typical narrative, it is normally the white male power structure in the dominant position. That is changing. There is nothing the structure can do in the context of this work. There is nowhere to run, the setting is void of resources that have any chance of benefiting such attempts. The surreal, undefined location is a representation of our collective agreements and societal norms. As he is thrown into the ground in the end, the ceremony is completed. We witness the physical manifestation of humility. Nobody was injured, as the cutting of one’s hair is a painless process and there is regrowth. However, the dead hair follicles lay on the dirt ground, and now the entire body is bare from head to toe, unable to hide even the phallic male symbol. It is a cultural shift manifesto. The cultural form of society is undergoing an evolutionary process. The promise of humanity and the prefrontal cortex is our potential for eventual unification. While there remains primitive territorial battles (albeit both intellectual and geographical in the current age), nature has its methods of balance in the realm of cultural narratives. In this context we have the opportunity to witness a representation of nature balancing out centuries of an inequitable society and interspecies relationships. No shift occurs in a vacuum at one moment. It takes innumerable tiny adjustments, and thus in this video medium the playback is looped. To view it once and be destroyed would deem the narrative fleeting and happenstance. The indefinite, saturating repetitive loop is reflective of this reality. Time is indeed a construct.
Kill Your Inner Copy
(x2) 4’ x 8’ plywood, poster board images, wheat paste, acrylic spray paint, ink
In the sign works, these ideas of repetition and power structure dismantling are represented in an alternative medium. Each piece of plywood consists of two sides, one seen and unseen. One’s initial encounter with this work will only experience a single part of the work, and will never witness the alternative; unless of course they are flipped. The cis white heteromale normative power structure is dwindling. The repetitive nature of the naked images forces one to reckon with this inevitability. The medium of choice with wheat paste and posterboard like aesthetic is typical of advertisements. For this reason we can interpret it as such, the narrative of our culture is being advertised to indeed be shifting away from the centuries old power structure, albeit not without numerous remaining strongholds. In these boards, spray paint is used as well which is indicative of a rebellious nature. Each board underneath the images has been thoroughly spray painted. We do see the words “kill your inner copy” spray painted in this work, and yet there are copies images being copied galore. It is a violent request for something that cannot be killed. Despite not being clearly visible, it demands recognition of an undercurrent permeating from within these forms. Unable to see the spray paint in its full form is irrelevant. However, this also means they lack any relevance, and in fact may be an act of primacy for the whole piece. “Tenant Parking Only” signage aesthetic brings the public square into fruition, and cohabitates with the demands of both the “advertisement” and the rebellion, or what one may call more of a “balance.” This particular public sign may also be interpreted as a failed attempt of the legal fallacies and narratives that have attempted to engulf a perceived “other.” Now the story is being corrected for who is perceived to be the “tenant.” The old power structures' perceptions of this definition have become immaterial. In the context of being placed with the remaining forms of this sign structure, we observe a full-scale embodiment of societal acclimatization. Note: the 3 QR codes on the naked side take the observer to separate digital landscapes for each individual artist and the collective unit. On the “back” of this work, there is a very different visual topography. “NOT RATED” in bold orange exists on the bare naked plywood on one piece. On the other, repetitive patterns of QR codes are all that exist (with the undercurrent of the spray paint aesthetic lingering). This form of QR codes beckons the world of 3-dimensional matter to be siphoned away into algorithmic terrain. There are no naked bodies on these sides of these works. Yet, they are there regardless if witnessed or not. On the other side of both is the truth of a reconstructing cultural history. There is a start juxtaposition in the contrast between the banality of a desire to get lost in a digital landscape and unrating, and the naked reality of what is being conceived. Each part relies on the alternate. In this regard, it is a curious thing to decide and observe where interpretations settle, for what reason, and by whom.