For the Yokohama Triennale, the artist will produce a new work that encompasses installation, performance, and video to socially engage with triennale audiences as well as the Yokohama residents. Within the exhibition space a ceremonial lion dance costume, made with military camouflage, will be hung onto a camouflage colored call. Throughout the course of the exhibition a 5 member lion dance team will be perform the lion dance by removing the costume on the wall, and marching from the exhibition space to Chinatown, and back. After the performance is completed in Chinatown, the costume will be returned back to its original position on the wall in the exhibition space. The artist will video record the entire process, editing and broadcasting on the triennale site to audiences so that a continuously evolving process is shown. Another video installation will show the lion dance teams training in the city of Nanjing.

Lion Dance is an ancient Chinese folk traditional game which developed into a myth during the Tang Dynasty. Today, the lion dance is used to drive off evil spirits during festivals. In Southern China, the Lion Dance often has been extended into a competition taking place in front of the door steps of different families. While lion dances traditionally occur on a set date, the artist uses another concept of time in this work (slowly approaching) to secretly change the customary concept of time of the people of Chinatown. Additionally, the artist's "Slowly Approaching" seems to hid a method and procedure composed of the history of Chinatown.

The work uses "disguise" (camouflage), "game" (Lion Dance) - "performance" (Chinatown) - "exhibition" (exhibition space) methods to directly the conflict between national cultures and periphery cultures, immediately dispelling the theme of reality. The "walking" nature of this work, connotes at type of "cultural Long March" metaphor.

The artist hopes to use the reappearance of this type of symbolic nationalist action to reveal the gap between periphery culture and nomadic nationalist culture, as well as to the inherent contradictory nature between similar nationalist community groups. The work uses the forms of "dance together" and "get together" to travel between the exhibition space and Chinatown, raising a festive atmosphere enjoyed by the people. It uses a happy and optimistic action familiar to all Chinese people to turn the triennale into a "carnival".

View of the gallery