Calayah

Contemporary Art Practice (MA)

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤWhere Has the Queen Mother's Chair Gone? ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ Digital Performance, 4min, 2024 ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

The Queen Mother of the West, a paramount goddess in Chinese mythology. She is a fossil, a plural. The power relations and social structures of different periods have squeezed and stretched, and gradually shaped her cultural sedimentary layers: the hermaphroditic Great Mother, who weaves heaven and earth; a piece of nowhere, worn, sheared, torn, bisected and carefully pieced together. She carries the sexual politics battles in mythology, revered and manipulated, flattered and wedded. Patriarchal writings subtly transfer female power, embedding themselves into the moral fabric of actions.

Through this digital performance, the artist sits in a chairless situation. As time flows, her body instinctively convulses in mid-air, succumbing to the point of exhaustion, ultimately falling to the ground. Gravity, muscle strength, and the power of ideas permeate and struggle within her. The scars of the image are glitches, a catastrophic yet exhilarating loss of control. They embraces degradation, objectification, and wounds, and forms new, positive forces.

Meanwhile, the project also shares the source files on the internet, inviting the audience to rewrite the Queen Mother. Participants can utilise their own or others’ motion capture data, or even that of their pets, to craft digital performances. Thus, this is an attempt at a social practice of deterritorialisation.Every viewer, regardless of identity, is granted equal authorship rights to copy, share, and create, over and over again. In the intertwined physical and digital worlds, the Great Mother extends through countless parallel and intersecting vector fields, ultimately converging towards an infinite origin.

About

“Perfection is a tragedy. I fervently love humanity’s flaws.” —Calayah

Calayah (b. 2000, China) is a queer artist whose work is grounded in research.Her artistic practice is characterised by continuous experimentation, combining emerging technologies with contemporary art to explore social issues. Her work primarily involves performance and moving images through mediums such as virtual reality, motion capture, and artificial intelligence.

Calayah’s work challenges societal norms, inviting viewers to critically examine how gender, libido, and the body are influenced by various ideologies. Her critical lens ranges from clinics implanting prosthetic phalluses for women to cultural industries catering to virtual attachments, from AI churches worshiping science to the commercialisation of life through body modifications. Her practice interrogates synthetic, moldable, and imitable identities, alongside their generation and regeneration.

Calayah thrives on creating intense tension in her works, presenting an excess that provokes a visceral reaction akin to overindulgence in sweets leading to nausea. Through this aesthetic of excess, she constructs a beautiful yet violently compelling new world. Her works seductively draw viewers in, posing the tantalising question: will you take a bite?

Content Warning

The content on this website may contain themes and materials that some users find distressing or offensive. Further, the content on this website may not be suitable for individuals under the age of 18. User discretion is advised.

Any views and opinions expressed in this student profile represent the views and opinions of the student and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Royal College of Art or its employees or affiliates. The appearance of any views or opinions on this page do not constitute endorsement of those views by the Royal College of Art. This student profile has been made available for informational purposes only. The Royal College of Art does not make any representations or warranties with regard to the accuracy of any information provided in this student profile, nor does it warrant the performance, effectiveness or applicability of any listed or linked sites. The Royal College of Art is not responsible for the content submitted by any user, or for the defamatory, offensive or illegal conduct of any user. If you wish to report any errors or inappropriate material that may cause offence, please email feedback@rca.ac.uk

To opt out >