Ground

video documentation of performance & paper sculpture from performance remainders
video duration: 7:03; sculpture: 141″ x 12″ x 13″
2017

Video documentation of a public performance commissioned by the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco for the New Urban Legend: Resistance of Space (Present Tense Biennial) exhibition.

Ground (crane)
paper sculpture from performance remainders
31” x 18” x 5”
2017-18

Ground is a ritualistic performance in two parts that explores geography, power, history, and community struggles against displacement. In the piece, I grind paper sculptural recreations of building tools–a sledgehammer and a construction crane–into the sidewalks of Chinatown (and historic Manilatown) at historic and present day sites of displacement and heightened concerns about gentrification. Taking inspiration from the exhibition’s subtitle, Resistance of Space, the project imagines a metaphorical inversion, where instead of reshaping the landscape, the landscape reshapes the faux construction tools. The performance begins to envision narratives of community resilience that unravel the inevitability of gentrification.

The locations of the performance include the location of the historic & new International Hotel (I-Hotel) where I forcibly break down a recreation of the sledgehammer Sheriff Hongisto used to knock open the apartment doors of elderly manong tenants 40 years ago. The performance also spans two other sites in Chinatown: an SRO currently amidst resident struggles to protect their homes and the construction site of the future Central Subway station, a location laden with some concerns about future affordability in the surrounding area.

videography, editing, & post-production: Bo Fone
sound assistant: Shangsi Sun
day-of production assistant: Sarah Lee
curator: Ziying Duan

Exhibition history:
New Urban Legend: Resistance of Space, 41 Ross – Chinese Culture Center (2017)
The City Breathing, Kimball Gallery, deYoung Museum (during Studio Artist residency) (2017)
From Here to There: A Constellation of Gestures, Glow Exhibitions, Chicago (2018)