Clare Chun-yu Liu: Artist Talk and Reading Workshop

esea contemporary, 13 Thomas Street, Manchester M4 1EU
Saturday 20 July 2024, 14:00–16:00 BST

In response to the screening of her films This is China of a particular sort, I do not know and Another beautiful dream, Clare Chun-yu Liu will discuss her practice-based research on the European cultural heritage of chinoiserie. The discussion will delve into questions such as: How does one respond to a historical representation of themselves from a contemporary perspective? How can identity be approached within a diasporic framework while participating in the postcolonial review of history? And how can we reinterpret pre-colonial Sino-British history in relation to chinoiserie from a postcolonial and Taiwanese/diasporic Chinese perspective?

Following the talk, an in-person reading session will be led by the artist. Informed by the two films, the session will explore diasporic Chinese identity, (self-)representation, and the relationship between self and other. We will collectively read excerpts from Ien Ang’s On Not Speaking Chinese and Trinh T. Minh-ha’s When the Moon Waxes Red. Autobiographical in nature, Ang’s texts provide insight into the complexity of belonging in the context of multiple migrations across generations and the urgency to articulate individual agency. Trinh’s philosophical and poetic writing addresses the problematic practice of representation in the Western tradition of anthropology. Through these texts, we will reflect on subjectivity, authenticity, and the ongoing journey of finding one’s place in a diasporic and transnational setting.

List of texts:

• Excerpts from On not speaking Chinese by Ien Ang (2001)
• Excerpts from When the Moon Waxes Red by Trinh T. Minh-ha (1991)

There is no requirement to read the texts beforehand, as we will be reading collectively – with each person taking turns to read one paragraph at a time. Copies of the reading will be distributed during the session.

Please reserve your place here.

This is China of a particular sort, I do not know and Another beautiful dream by Clare Chun-yu Liu will be screened between Tuesday 16 and Saturday 20 July 2024 as part of An Inverted Journey of Counter Archiving at esea contemporary.

Read more about This is China of a particular sort, I do not know and English chinoiserie in Clare’s article for the UnCanon, “the curious question of Chineseness: The Royal Pavilion”.