Video Installation 2016

Mixed Media
Size Variable

It is a root searching journey of a granddaughter to search for traces of her grandfather whose dedication had contributed to the development of the Cantonese Opera Costume industry since the 1950s, the golden time of the industry in Hong Kong. A first art project in Hong Kong that plays with the operatic subjects in digital format.

The artist becomes a living sculpture to reveal the spatial relations that travels time and sentimentality,  when all colors were intentionally reduced to basic Black and White, which violated the color rules in opera art, together with the contrast between speed, direction, and time offer another aperture to openly invite spectators to journey with her through visual, audio, and sentimental engagement. 

To breathe new life into the old, this artwork lands on a shaking ground to link two incongruous matters to induce a sense of contradiction between the < Old> and < New>, < Past > and <Present>, < Separation> and< Reunion>.  Water sleeves are one of the <Old> materials of Chinese Opera Costume, whereas the < New> is the latest 3D filming technology, the RED EPIC cameras shot at high speed 120- 144 FRS, 4K specifications and the locally invented 3D autostereoscopic (glasses-free) technology at its fourth generation in 2016.

Shoveling into the last incognizable century

    I trace for YOU

In the loudness of the percussion 

Through the lustrous embroideries

    I look for any proof of your handwork

    your penmanship  interspersed among

The Filament    The Cuts            The Drawings

1911–

Submerging into the piles of sheets

    thousands over thousands of words     

I grabble a word of 

YOU

2009–

There YOU are

Your existence       I am the evidence

Your life stories      I offer affirmation     

2014–

But

Your strenuosity

    who come to preserve?

2016-

The Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

(Video in 3D, 2D, and Red-Blu Anaglyph.)

Photo Credit: Mr. Dino Paul

“Dear Jessie, I am impressed by your work and love the water-sleeve interpretation which is most creative and with the lyrical mood in reminiscence with your grandad.  The exploration of new 3D techniques is very good and successful indeed.  I believe the appeal and ambiance would be more impressive if the work is site-specific, such as shown in heritage sites like PMQ or historical buildings. I look forward to seeing more of your works in the future and wish you every success in your artistic endeavor. ”

Mr. Hoi-chiu Tang, Former Chief Curator of the Hong Kong Museum of Art

“JC had helped the audience to see the invisible element, such as time, movement, rhythm, strength, gravity… all transformed and recomposed in a new way that changes our perception of this older form of performance. She had mediated successfully the conflicts of digital media and the real-time traditional staged performance; and re-orchestrated time, space, and body beautifully with purity and simplicity through the lens of technology. ”

Professor Kurt Chan, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

“ This is not the typical type of dance performance… it is a special moving sculpture of water sleeves floating in the air … 3D presentation shows the relationship of airspace around the performer and the rhythmic movement of the sleeves at six times normal time-lapse, creating something we don’t notice in a normal instance.  An orchestra of pleasing and pulsating movements of poetic and aesthetic volume is shown before our eyes!

Mr. Henry Chung, 3D Cinematographer HKSC

Project Extension

Museum of Anthropology UBC  Canada 2019

 Chinese University of Hong Kong Centre for Chinese Classical Learning  2017

Chinese International School – Art Symposium 2017

Behind the Scene

 Photo Credit: Agogo Film