Performative photography series
2014 - 2019
Communist male outfit embedded with a fake Louis Vuitton logo patterned fabric, Chromogenic prints.
38 x 50 inches (96.5 x 127 cm)
-- Artist statement
My practice combines movement and material in body-based sculptural forms, including masks, costumes, and other objects. By placing traditional sculptural forms within new sites, materials, and social constructs, I investigate these forms and movements within global communities to re-consider and re-envision shared spaces and performative practices.
Personal becomes political. To reflect the patriarchal society in China, I imitate historical monuments, such as statues of Chairman Mao, while taking multiple photos of myself jumping in the air with a handmade fake Louis Vuitton Communist suit. I want to create something absurd to question reality: Which one is more real, the sculpture of the patriarchal figure or the person jumping? Is the surreal man-made landscape more real or the ghostly jumping figure? There is humor in my work, but I want people to realize the gravity and profundity of the issues behind the absurdity.
Xie Sichong 谢思冲 was born in 1991, in Xi'an, China. She holds a post-MFA from Fine Arts Department of Bath Spa University (2017), an MFA in Photography and Media / Integrated Media from California Institute of the Arts (2017), and a BFA from Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts (2012). She seeks to be a cultural organizer who utilizes body-based sculptural forms (masks/costumes/ objects) and transforms these discarded materials and spaces by implementing a sense of humor and absurdity. Xie Sichong currently lives and works in Los Angeles, USA.
