ABOUT THE PROJECT
A performance art piece examines feminism, the female body, and appearance in order to bring awareness of Asian stereotypes and standardised beauty judgments on women.
The collaborative project is a performance work that explores feminism, the female body, and physical beauty. As we are all Chinese, we decided to expand upon our culture's gender norms. Both Lingyi and Peiyi's projects examine the standardised beauty perceptions of women on social media. Lingyi is portrayed by beauty standards that focus on facial anxiety, while Peiyi emphasises the Asian stereotype for women to appear childlike. Combining with Jiayin's exploration of Chinese feudalistic expectations for women and the limitations on their body control.
To enhance the impact of our message, we chose central London (Chinatown and Leicester Square) as the project's location from the beginning. With one of London's busiest sites as a location option, we can optimise the diversity of our passengers. We arranged a walking route and constructed a mirror box with a one-way mirror film and a concealed camera for Jiayin's head. The outfit was a nude ballet leotard that defined the model's body shape, revealing the majority of the model's skin as well as her distinguishing tattoos. In addition to the camera positioned on the model's helmet, we have two cameramen nearby to document the passengers' genuine reactions. By contextualising this performance, we increased its societal impact.