Directions for Performer is a photograph of directions for a performer written on Shiu Jin’s forearm by himself. The directions are as follows.
- 1.Make sure to wear black no matter what it’s clothes or accessories.
- 2.Always stay among the audience.
- 3.Move on secretly never to be caught being a performance.
- 4.Keep a secret pretending like you don’t know until the end, even if you are discovered to be a performer.
- 5.Move, as convenient for you. But be sure the steps back and forth, side to side.
The performer is supposed to wear black clothes, blend in with the audience and move as directed, and it should be done secretly so that it is not known that the performance is taking place. However, the direction given to the performer is to wear something black and move among the audience, and this ordinary movement is what everyone does at the exhibition. Through this, Shiu Jin raises questions about ‘the nature of the artist’ while creating an element that entertains himself, that is, a situation in which “the audience itself becomes a performer, and another audience watching it.” This relationship can be seen as complex because it is not clearly revealed. However, the artist’s intention is to pursue diversity and room for another interpretation of the relationship between the work and the audience. The audience also observes each other and participates in the work while giving infinite interpretations to themselves through the gap between the work and the audience.
- Artist
- Shiu Jin
- Date
- 2014
- Classifications
- photography
- Medium
- color digital C-print
- Dimensions
- 37×50 cm
- Collection No
- 275