Four Quadrants of the Sky 四大神獸 completes the second cycle of Performing Identities, an expansive collaborative project that reimagines diasporic East and Southeast Asian [ESEA] identities through contemporary myth-making. A new immersive video installation with sound scape, together with the costumes will be on exhibition at Bloc Projects, Sheffield from 15th Sept - 14th Oct 2023 with a launch event on Thurs 14th Sept 6-8pm. This cycle explores versions of Hong Kongness through the newly devised characters, Wok Hei, The Navigator, Lo Ting and Hybridiy.
Made in collaboration with:
Performers Clara Cheung, Angela YT Chan and Tala Lee Turton Choreographer Jan-Ming Lee Costume & Set Designer Christine Ting-Huan 挺歡 Urquhart Costume Assistant Thu Truong Cinematographer Jim Wraith Focus Puller Ai Narapol Gaffer Anh Do Costume & Set Assistant Shania Simpson Make-Up Kinga Dwornik Curated by Sunshine Wong Production still by Juan de Leon-Padmore
Four Quadrants of the Sky builds on last year’s Hong Kong Future Diaspora, collaborators of which also included Anna Chan, Franco Ho, Jonathan Tang, Dr Wayne Wong, Shan Ray Cheung.
Supported by Bloc Projects, Necessity, Centre for Equity & Inclusion at University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University.
Last night in Barbican Cinema 2 writer, producer and curator Gareth Evans presented some of the edited results of Eelyn Lee's 5-day Monster Lab. Last week Eelyn led a group of 18 collaborating performers, musicians and artists through an experimental process in the Barbican's studio theatre, to find new ways of creating improvised film. Loosely inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the project explored notions of monster, demons and fear, using the setting of the estuary to locate the work.
Evans had visited the Lab on Day 4 and observed the process in action. After seeing the three scenes projected in the cinema, his first comment to the audience was:
"...The idea that we would see something translated so profoundly from a theatrical space to a cinematic one in just a handful of days is really extraordinary... the process starts ironically in a theatre space and becomes more cinematic as it goes on. A wonderful paradox..."
Eelyn Lee and long-term editor/composer Francis Morgan-Giles spent three days editing the footage shot by cinematographer Dominik Rippl. The results are three scenes of a monster story: the river; the hideout and the market. Lee says,
'We have enough footage to cut together four more scenes to complete the story cycle. I am really pleased with the results which are dark, full of suspense and evoke a strong sense of the estuary. We have truly created a new visual language through this unique process. It's very exciting.'
Eelyn is currently looking to transfer the process, characters and stories to a real setting along the Thames Estuary and further develop the work to create a feature length film.
Paul Canoville with Desmond, a student from Brentside High School
Whilst working on the Creative Connections commission at the National Portrait Gallery in collaboration with Brentside High School, artist Eelyn Lee was keen to include a portrait of someone with links to the school in the final display. With notable alumni from neighbouring schools already in the Collection, such as Peter Crouch and Steve McQueen there was an obvious gap to be filled.
Brentside does have a significant former student, Paul Canoville the first black footballer to play for Chelsea in 1982. Canoville suffered a great deal of racism both on and off the pitch, and injury forced him in take early retirement. He has since written his autobiography Black and Blue and gives motivational talks to young people.
Eelyn is pleased to announce that a photographic portrait of Paul Canoville by Hugh Hastings was acquired especially for the display and his image now sits in the National Portrait Gallery's Collection as a just acknowledgement for his contributions to British life and culture.
Eelyn has written a powerful piece about the significance of this acquisition in her guest blog for the National Portrait Gallery. Read it here.
Four 90 second films made by students on this year's BFI Film Academy at the Barbican will be screening on Wed 21st May 5pm, Barbican Cinema 3.
Eelyn Lee developed a fast track course for 18 aspiring young filmmakers, the level of which was very high. Eelyn set a challenge to re-create and then re-imagine a scene from two seminal British films, Kes and the Third Man. The results are four very different and imaginative takes on life and death including a sci fi, a black comedy, a monologue and an experimental art film.
If you would like to attend please e.mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive an invitation.
ALL EYES ON US, a 25 minute documentary about the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games is to screen at the British Film Institute on Monday 2nd September. There are two screenings at 12.30 and at 13.30 so pop down during your lunch break....
Tickets are FREE. Reserve a place for the 12.30 screening here. Reserve a place for the 13.30 screening here.
Pleased to announce that Eelyn Lee's latest moving image work, Monster [16mins] has been selected for this year's BAFTA Qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival.
The festival runs from 5th - 8th Novemver 2015 in the historic city of York, UK.
The Creative Connections display at the National Portrait Gallery, featuring new work by Eelyn Lee has been extended for a week. The last day to see, An Ealing Trilogy, an 8-minute projected film installation is Sunday 21st September.
The display has proven very popular with visitors over the summer, with an estimated 30,000 people viewing the work since the opening on 20th June.
Artist filmmaker Eelyn Lee will be showing a new piece of moving image work at the National Portrait Gallery, London this summer. Commissioned by the gallery to work in collaboration with a group of young people from Brentisde High School, Eelyn ran a series of workshops over a four month period to develop content for this 7 minute single-screen projection.
An Ealing Trilogy is a response to portraits of people in the gallery's collection who have links to the borough of Ealing, which include Charlie Chaplin, Freddie Mercury, Dusty Springfield, recent Oscar-winner, Steve McQueen and the man who invented ways to make mauve, William Perkin.
Early on in the process, Eelyn identified three themes that seemed to sum up the achievements and characteristics of this group of 18 inpiring people. Endeavour, creativity and vision are explored in a trilogy of slow moving narrative portraits which reference constructed photography, allegorical painting and cinematic forms to create a powerful and engaging piece of work.
An Ealing Trilogy can be seen alongside the collection of portraits from 20th June - 21st September. Eelyn will giving a talk about the display and her work at 19.30 on 20th June as part of Late Shift. More details here.
ALL EYES ON US will be screening at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park this Saturday 7th September to mark National Paralympic Day. As part of the day the Major of London will be presenting the Liberty Festival, an exciting programme of deaf and disability arts including a newly commissioned show by Graeae Theatre. There will also be paralympic sport throughout the day in The Copper Box Arena.
ALL EYES ON US screens at 12.30pm. More details here.
Pleased to announce that ALL EYES ON US, a film about the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games will be screening alongside a filmed version of Danny Boyle's grand opening of the Olympic Games, at the Shuffle Festival in East London. Danny Boyle who is a Bow resident has programmed a selection of films that will screen in an old asylum on the Mile End Road. ALL EYES ON US can be seen on Tuesday 13th August at 4pm. FREE ENTRY.
And it's not just a film festival - there are bars; a gallery; a picnic area and live music too. Read an interview with Danny Boyle to find out more about the festival here.
Monday, 22 January 2024 ' Four Quadrants of the Sky employs mythology as a tool that is both fantastical and particular, to think expansively and interconnectedly—a mythological trans-local. It is an intellectual, theoretical and political work, and also a magical, gorgeous one.' - Emma Bolland. Four Quadrants of the Sky 四大神獸 reviewed in Corridor 8. Read the... Read More...
Thursday, 27 October 2022 On Thursday 3rd Nov I'll be joining a conversation about diaspora and Hong Kongness as part of my exhibition, Hong Kong Future Diaspora at Bloc Projects.Thu 3 Nov 7-8.30pm [GMT]Free but booking required.Book... Read More...
Paul Canoville with Desmond, a student from Brentside High School
