Supernatural beings: collective mythmaking and martial arts films
Thursday 12 October
6 - 7:15 pm
Walk-ins welcome but bookings prioritised
Bloc Projects are excited to host artist Eelyn Lee and martial arts and film scholar Dr Wayne Wong in a special roundtable chaired by our Co-Director (Programme) Dr Sunshine Wong.
Eelyn's recent work Four Quadrants of the Sky -- on collective mythmaking and Hong Kongness -- is informed by 'embodied knowledges'. While this formulation might be relatively new in the west, it is intrinsic to Chinese / Sinospheric thought and can be found above all in a most recognisable Hong Kong cultural export: the martial arts film.
Responding specifically to the four mythological beings in Eelyn's exhibition, Dr Wayne Wong will present a selection of film clips that expand upon Chinese and Hong Kong identity tropes. For film buffs, martial arts enthusiasts, or anyone curious about memories stored in our bodies.
Documentation images credit: Charles Lo.
Eelyn Lee is an award-winning artist and filmmaker based in Sheffield. Her practice combines collective research, devised theatre and filmmaking to create frameworks for ensembles of collaborators to work together. In 2016 she co-founded Social Art Network, an artist-led network, building agency in the field of art and social practice. In 2020 she was commissioned to make Casting Fu Manchu, a film exploring ‘yellow peril’ in response to the rise of COVID related ‘Asian hate’. Eelyn is currently developing her first narrative feature film.
Dr Wayne Wong received his PhD in Film Studies and Comparative Literature from King’s College London and the University of Hong Kong. His research specialises in global martial arts and action cinema. He published in peer-reviewed journals and anthologies, such as Global Media and China, Martial Arts Studies and Afro-Futurism in Black Panther: Gender, Identity, and the Re-Making of Blackness. He is an editor of Martial Arts Studies, the flagship journal of the Martial Arts Studies Research Network.