View the performance video document on Vimeo
Six 16mm film projectors Performance
Stereo sound / Color / 18 minutes
Materials: Projector stands, speaker, prisms, pencils, rotating station, 16mm film loops
Size: Adjustable to showcase in a gallery or a theater setting, Tech Rider
Blue Bird, an expanded cinema, multi-16mm-projection performance of the journey of a bird’s soul to find its body, holds deep personal significance. The subject shares the narrative of searching for belongings and identity, spirit-body relationships, and my personal journey from getting lost to finding myself. The project consists of text, poems, archive footage, shot footage from China and the USA, animation, and a voice-over of my personal story of growing up in a small conservative city in China. It utilizes analog techniques such as cameraless filmmaking, laser printing, hand process, direct animation, color separation, projector operation, loop, and optical printing. This project is fully analog, utilizing 16mm film materials.
Blue Bird is not only a kind of bird, but also a symbol of a group of people, who migrate and explore their identity, history, and memory.
Funded by UFVA Carlo Fielding Award, Emerson Enhancement Grant, and Green Production Grant.
Artist Statement
As a bisexual female born and raised in China, I understand the underlying pressure to express one’s self. My experience of moving to the USA and facing cultural differences, mental illness, and identity issues forced me to find myself. This is where this project started, under the pain of inner disorder and a strong desire to find myself. The tactile trait of analog film and light allows me to convert my feelings and memories to reality. After two and a half years of intensive study and artistic exploration at Emerson, this project encapsulates my passion, growth, and life experiences, presented through this unique format. It marks the culmination of my Emerson journey and serves as an important step in my dreams as an independent artist.
In addition to being a personal project, my project is also a platform for advocacy. My journey to move to the US and start over with zero connection is filled with courage and risk. I am also risk-taking in my art, by embracing the unconventional media analog film and the seemingly unprofitable nature of expanded cinema. I deeply believe that courage and risk-taking in art-making are always worthwhile, and I want to prove and inspire the audience to bravely make their art.
Work-in-progress Photos:
Reading list
Song of the Open Road BY Walt Whitman
The Journey BY Yvor Winters
Journey and Return BY Willard Maas
A Journey of the Mental Traveller BY Ernest Sandeen
Abstract Film and Beyond by Malcolm Le Grice
Expanded Cinema BY Gene Youngblood
Expanded Cinema: Art, Performance, Film
Memory in Freud BY Richard Terdiman
Watching list
Outer and Inner Space (1965) BY AndyWarhol
A Short History BY Erica Sheu
Girl From Moush BY Garine Torossian
Wings of Desire
Je Ne Sais Plus [What Is This Feeling] 2012 – present BY Kristin Reeves
Man with Mirror BY Guy Sherwin
Horror Film BY Malcolm Le Grice
Special thanks to Paul Turano, Malic Amalya, John Gianvito, Kathryn Ramey, Maurice Methot, Shaun Clark, Stephen Jackson, Emerson College DFL, AgX Film Collective, all the audiences, my parents, and classmates who gave me support.
Crew
Artist & Producer – Yue Hua
Co-producer – Yanghuixiao Gao
Composer – Dominik Kalajdzic
Assistant Performer – Yuhan Wu
Associate Producer – Ziqi Cao, Izzy Astuto
Editor – Yue Hua
Trailer Editor – Leon Liu
Assistant Editor – Leon Liu, Guan Huang, Xiaoyi Luo
Sound Mixer – Yue Hua, Nathaniel Gardner
Still Photographer – Asma Nobari Khoshme, Tomas Orrego
Video Record – Asma Nobari Khoshme, Ömer Yılmaz, Carol Shen, Zhengkai Luo, Liu Yi
Assistant Animator – Yi Liu, Arden Pianodes, Carol Shen, Jiyeon Kim, Elise Cohen
Production in Qinghai, China
YueHua 