Wu Gui 

Moving Image 

2021 




‘Wu Gui’ was shot in my hometown, a small city in the Southwest part of China. I acted as "Wu Gui" and appeared randomly everywhere in the city, invading and provoking the "everyday" scenes in a mild way.

Here, "Wu Gui", originally meant turtle in Chinese, is neither a human nor an animal but re-defined by me as my chosen identity. All languages and identities (gender, race, class, social roles, etc.) are artificial and are used to discipline society. Therefore, everyone deserves the right to create their own identity.

As an absurd subject that does not belong to the symbolic world, "Wu Gui" is excluded from this small city that is not "open" and "diverse", like queer people and minority groups. At the same time, with the abruptness of the "monster" in the unique urban scenes, the collision of weirdness and conservatism becomes even more intense.




This short film was nominated for/ won the following awards:

Shortlist, Chaiya Art Awards 2023
Shortlist, East London Art Prize
Runners Up, The Batsford Prize 2022 - People’s Choice Award




Video link: https://vimeo.com/515709178