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M+, Hong Kong. M+ Council for New Art Fund, 2018, © Li Binyuan
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Mediatheque
Li Binyuan 厲檳源
Testing 測試
2015
Recorded in a single static shot, Testing documents a physical encounter between performance artist Li Binyuan and the natural world as he repeatedly climbs a tall stalk of bamboo. Barefoot and shirtless, he ‘tests’ both his strength and his body’s memory of bamboo’s pliability. Before his first climb, he places his shoes at the point on the ground where he predicts he will return when the stalk bends with his weight—a prediction that proves correct. On his second climb, the bamboo bends less and he is forced to drop a short distance to the ground. On the third and final climb, visibly tired, he struggles to reach the middle of the stalk and hangs suspended for a few moments before falling onto his back and hurting himself badly.
Li considers his body to be a sculptural medium, and he stages performances that use playful motion and his own physicality to reveal norms, social agreements, and other hidden structures of human existence. While an injury was not the intended outcome of Testing, it exemplifies his broader exploration of how his body and its environment interact with and alter each other.
Li considers his body to be a sculptural medium, and he stages performances that use playful motion and his own physicality to reveal norms, social agreements, and other hidden structures of human existence. While an injury was not the intended outcome of Testing, it exemplifies his broader exploration of how his body and its environment interact with and alter each other.
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