XIAO KE × ZI HAN
The collaborative works between Xiao Ke and Zi Han involve photography, video, live art and installation that focus on personal body exploring the extreme of expression under the public context in China.
Having the purpose to realize the conceptual body performance in the urban public environment, it no less connects the personal life of the artists with the city where they live than pushing the performing art onto the street which engenders the opportunity to have contacts as much as possible with the public as well the interaction. By restoring the artists’ ideas back into life, their collaboration is to fulfill the life process of the idea itself that what comes from life vanishes into life.
They founded iPANDA, independent performance artivists network and development action, which focus on China's independent performance to build up the internal network and improve the development to go further to international field.
Xiao Ke, Performance artist.
At the age of six, Xiao Ke began her Chinese traditional dance education and training, which lasted for twelve years until she was enrolled by Fudan University in Shanghai from where she studied contemporary dance by herself. In 1998, she founded her own dance studio “XK Dance Studio”. In 2002, she started collaboration with contemporary artists. In 2005, together with Zhang Xian, she co-founded ZuHe Niao Physical Theater Collactive and won ZKB Award in Zurich Theater Spektakel in 2006. In 2007, UGLY Performing art Studio was founded in Beijing. In 2011, she co-founded Cannot Help Art Collective with Zhou Zihan and Zhang Yuan that aims at probing into social issues through art that is transboundary and diverse.
Xiao Ke’s works have been invited and shown in different countries. In recent years, she has been pioneering the road for performance art as well social theater about the reality in today’s China, and the artistic forms are various, no longer limited within the theater.
Zi Han, Performance / Audiovisual artist.
Zi Han started his creative career as a photographer and founded CANART, an independent contemporary art institute with friends in Shanghai where he has curated dozens of contemporary art exhibitions and contemporary theater performances from 2008 to 2010.
In 2009, Zihan, together with independent playwright and director Zhang Xian and art institute Borneoco in Neitherland, co-curated Shanghai Transboundary Art Festival during which he started to have deep communication with many brilliant contemporary dance theater artists from home and abroad. From then on, Zihan began his creative participation in the field of contemporary theater. In 2010, Zihan joined Zuhe Niao, an independent artist collective in Shanghai, in the piece The Dream of Red Chamber he worked and toured with the collecitve as the video maker and performer.
Zihan keeps moving forward engaging in comprehensive visual art and live music for theater performance. His works includes photography, video, contemporary art and sound.
The contemporary theater works which he has participated have been invited by and toured in quite a few important theater festivals such as JULIDANS in Neitherland, TPAM Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama Japan, Tanzhaus Nrw and HELLERAU in Germany, Rencontres Choregraphiques Festival in France and Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
XIAO KE X ZI HAN Projects.pdf | 4.48MB | Download |
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