3 Person Game 三人游

3 Person Game, 2018

The idea for this project came from the friendships I developed at QingCun Artist Residency in China. This experimental painting performance is a collaborative effort between myself and Chinese artist Jake Rong and Chen Chen. Jake was a figurative oil painter and Chen Chen was a printmaker, and together we explored new ways of creating an image. In a selected environment, we jumped off of one another’s words and actions, spurred each other to react, used our bodies as tools for mark-making and improvised with found objects. The preparation for the piece began that morning, as we foraged for free materials ranging in size around the grounds of the residency. Everything from bricks to discarded mosquito netting to an old shoe were piled onto a pushcart. We then found an unused dance studio to use for space and quickly set up. The surface for painting was placed flat on the ground with the tools in organized sections around the perimeter. We chose music to help us dive into an uninhibited flow state.

Part-performance, part-painting, part-play, the only rule was that whatever we were doing, we had to commit to do it. From rolling the paint-covered wheels of the cart onto the canvas to dancing on top of the canvas, to throwing down leaves onto the surface, the combination of our energies kept each other going on the piece. Once we were happy with the result, like true friends, we committed ourselves to thoroughly to clean up the mess around the piece, which also took about two hours to intensively tidy up. The finished result is like nothing we’ve ever done. Completely site-specific and dependent on those who participated, the piece was not as important as the relationships we formed with each other and the feeling of joy that was expressed throughout playing.