Inherited
Performance by Venus Lau
FURNACE#1, Tai Po Arts Centre, Hong Kong, 2023
This performance piece delves into the pain and ancestral memories carried by the female lineage. By unleashing the fragments of emotions trapped within the performer's body, it explores the depths of the unconscious and reconstructs her connections with her mother. Witness the performer's attempt to hold a cup of water with her belly, moving with caution and care despite the pain it creates in her back. Accepting the inevitable spills, each drop of water becomes a symbol of resilience and surrender.
FURNACE is a lab for performance and happenings in Hong Kong.
熔爐負責人彭靖文字記錄：
小東身穿黑色內衣，躺在地上，把腹部上的透明器皿用水填滿，仰天向後爬行，水不期然地瀉出，散落一地，再爬行，再填滿，再瀉出與散落，再持續的用背部前進。小東把前設在木箱上的維他命倒在水中，一粒咬在嘴裏，爆炸不斷傾瀉的水流出，水被染成粉橙色。
認識小東是在大學時，應該有十年了，在周耀輝老師的美學堂認識，偶然會在不同場合遇上，一直很希望與小東有更深刻的對話，而她參與這次行為體驗坊我真的又驚又喜。
我們聊到原生家庭、成長期中的際遇，以及母親的關係，也許，這些重要的事件成就我們現在的「我」。在首天的行為練習中，我以行為藝術卡牌作引子，每人各抽兩張牌，一張創作名詞卡，一張行為動詞卡。小東那個行為中只有一個行動-前進。在一步又一步的前進中，小東默默地流淚、飲泣、痛哭著，我們都在安靜的見證當中。在結束後的揭曉，小東抽到「孤獨」，分享到最大的恐懼就是孤獨。在聊天中，眾人也分享著對孤獨的看法。
於我，孤獨這詞語是中性的，不存有正或負的詮釋。同時，我也理解到小東的悲傷為何，是一種內在而複雜的情感，源頭很深很遠。曾經，與某同學聊到關於孤獨，我說：「我幾喜歡孤獨既感覺。」她說：「那你的家人或伴侶怎麼辦？」那時𣊬間才意識到，啊，原來會有這樣的思考。我喜歡孤獨，但同時也愛著家人和伴侶，而兩者是無衝突或抵觸的。
“ The highest form of love is to be the protector of another person‘s solitude.”
- Rainer Maria Rilke
「愛的最高形式就是成為另一個人孤獨的保護者。」
- 萊納·瑪利亞·里爾克
Words from Jing Pang, the host of FURNACE:
Siu Tung is wearing black underwear and lying on the ground, filling the transparent vessel on her abdomen with water. She crawls backwards, tilting his head towards the sky, causing the water to unexpectedly spill out and scatter all over the floor. She repeats this process of crawling, filling, spilling, and scattering, all while moving forward with his back. Siu Tung pours the vitamins placed on a wooden box into the water, takes one and bites into it. The water gushes out like continuous explosions, dyeing the water red and orange.
I met Siu Tung in university, it must have been about ten years ago, at Professor Chow Yiu Fai 's aesthetics class. We would occasionally run into each other at different events, and I always hoped to have deeper conversations with Siu Dong. So, I was both surprised and delighted when she joined this performance art workshop.
We talked about our upbringing, the experiences during our formative years, and our relationships with our mothers. Perhaps, these significant events shaped who we are today. On the first day of the workshop, I used performance art cards as prompts. Each person drew two cards, one with a creative noun and one with a verb of action. Siu Tung's action was "forward." With each step forward, she silently shed tears, sobbed, and cried in pain, and we all silently witnessed it. At the end, Siu Tung drew the card "loneliness" and shared that her greatest fear is loneliness. During our conversation, everyone also shared their perspectives on loneliness.
For me, loneliness is a neutral word, without positive or negative connotations. At the same time, I understood the depth and complexity of Siu Tung's sadness, as it stems from a deep and distant place within. Once, while discussing loneliness with a classmate, I said, "I quite enjoy the feeling of loneliness." She asked, "What about your family or partner?" It was then that I realized, oh, there can be such thoughts. I enjoy loneliness, but I also love my family and partner, and the two are not conflicting or contradictory.
"The highest form of love is to be the protector of another person's solitude."
- Rainer Maria Rilke
