“I snuggle into the wedding chamber from my tomb bed my shin is the lintel
I snuggle into the tomb bed from my wedding chamber my hair is the quilt the spirit-guiding streamer”

The couplet is embroidered on the hanging “spirit-guiding streamer” reminiscent of a typical Chinese funeral decor, which contrasts the red veil that typically covers the head of a Chinese bride. Referring to the ghost marriage tradition that is still practised in rural China, the performance installation delineates an underground space of a tomb, in which the performer meets the corpse-bride through a wedding make-up ritual that cannot be captured by the medium of the infrared camera.

“She hears vaguely a pre-recorded wailing from above the ground. Whether a funeral should be rehearsed or improvised still puzzles her. Her wedding colludes with a funeral that’s not hers. It is no coincidence that the active yang refers to males and the receptive yin refers to females. She is manufactured into a corpse bride to fulfil the sweet promise: To fertilise his reincarnation.”

I Snuggle Into The Tomb Bed From My Wedding Chamber,
My Hair Is The Quilt The Spirit-guiding Streamer

2022

performance installation, embroidery on textiles, infrare camera, laptop, spoken words, sound, dimensions variable

Installation View and Opening Performance at "How Will You Ascertain Time?"  (2022)  curated by Hajra Haider Karrar and Sagal Farah, SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin