Inspired by Sara Ahmed’s writing on both the ‘orient’ of sexual orientation and the ‘orient’ of Orientalism, this programme plots a cartography of how othered bodies inhabit spaces where we are not at home – how we etch new desire lines off the straight path.

Here, we lean into the spectacle of exoticism, the familiar ‘strangeness’ of the Orient as object, to unveil its contrivance. But queer Asian subjects also refuse to come into frame, allowing us to inhabit shadow, ambiguity, and instability through their gaze. These are experiments in moving through space queerly: what does it mean for a body to be oriented, to feel at home?

Curated by Xuanlin Tham. This event is followed by a conversation.

 

hard boil, soft centre
A surrealist short film that reimagines four female archetypes, threaded together with the symbol of the egg.
Dir. Elsa Wong, Sonia Kwek | Singapore | 2024 | 12 min

Penumbrae Question Shadow
A video poem using the Chinese ancient philosophy ‘Penumbrae Question Shadow (罔两问影)’ to challenge the binary structure of Western identity politics and queerness.
Dir. Kara Li | UK | 2024 | 4 min

Similar Disguise
Five episodes each present a character in a different time, space, and environment, allowing artist Tao Hui to rethink the role of “dressing” and “performing” in people’s identity and transformation.
Dir. Tao Hui | China | 2020 | 8 min

The Train of Memories
Scanned photographs create a ‘train of memories’ that charts Jeremiah Chen’s struggles to seek self-identification while offering the possibility of release.
Dir. Jeremiah Chen | Taiwan | 2023 | 5 min

Walker
Lee Kang-Sheng is a red-robed monk barely locomoting through the bustling streets of Hong Kong.
Dir. Tsai Ming-Liang | Taiwan | 2012 | 27 min

 

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If you have any access requirements, please contact our box office team on 020 7613 7498 or email