Parlance of Two
- double-bill of conceptual performances
It is conceptual art, or it is performance about conceptual art.
Two artists, two disciplines, one subtle dialogue
Dick Wong – Performing Artist– performer, choreographer and director
Serene Hui – Visual Artist – installation, sound, printmaking and text
Two artists from different fields have drawn inspiration from the radical spirits of "Conceptual Art" and "Dadaism" in visual art, to create two conceptual performances that engage with the context and spectatorship of theatre as a framework for their work. Both pieces, "This Is" and "An Agreement," primarily utilise English and explore the notion of "parlance" (the act of speaking/telling) as their primary medium. Although they are independent works, they subtly connect, facilitating a dialogue through their artistry.
"Conceptual Art" is well-known in the visual art world for its emphasis on language as a medium, dematerialization, and minimising their tools , relying on linguistic definitions as creative strategies. It critiques the essence of "art/artwork/institution" through the processes of creation and reception, sparking self-reflection.
In the context of theatre, language evolves not just a neon-light sign of text hanging on the exhibition wall, to become a time-based "embodied narrative" performance. While art historian and critic Michael Fried famously dismissed "theatricality" as the enemy of art's autonomy, both Wong and Hui embrace that kind of theatricality of breaking the absorption. They transform the theatre into a setting where language is no longer just a sign on a wall, but an embodied experience. For the audience, this is not a passive viewing of a traditional conceptual art exhibition, it is a temporal reflection.
Two artists, two disciplines, one subtle dialogue. Come and witness the space where words become action.
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Dick Wong "This Is"
From Duchamp to Kosuth to Lewitt, "This Is" looks to visual art to reinvestigate time, space and the body on stage. The ethos of the conceptualists, which originated from creating and presenting paintings and sculptures, are transposed into a live performance to engage the mind rather than the eyes. An interplay between language and images, the work is like a mind map of meanings, expanding the perceptions of time, space and the ephemeral body.
When the invisible becomes visible, and answers become questions, do we see more or do we see less ?
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Serene Hui "An Agreement"
"An Agreement" is a live work structured as a legal contract read aloud. By appropriating the formal language of institutional agreements, the work explores the complexities of communication, trust, and the relationship between artist, work, and audience. Repetition strips words of their specificity until meaning fractures; the script oscillates between poetic reflection and legal jargon, creating commentary on the nature of agreements, both personal and formal.
The work interrogates questions of responsibility and identity. Personal anecdote interrupts legal clause; poetic fragmentation interrupts bureaucratic certainty. The 'parties' multiply. The roles blur. The person responsible remains uncertain.
Structured in articles and interludes, "An Agreement" exposes its own flaws, oddities, and potential for misinterpretation. Its obsessive utterances bear an affinity to the iconoclastic literary experiments of the Dada movement.
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- Free Seating.
- Audience members are required to arrive on time. Latecomers will only be admitted at a suitable break.
- Running time of the whole performance is about 100 minutes with intermission.
- Suitable for ages 12 and above.
- The Hong Kong Arts Development Council supports freedom of artistic expression. The views and opinions expressed in this project do not represent the stand of the Council.
