Peer Network
Have You Eaten Yet? with Ghost and John
There Are Gods Around Us (Closing Performance)
Have You Eaten Yet? with Cường Phạm, Ghost & John, Jessie Jing, Monica Tolia, Songsoo Kim, Taey Iohe & Youngsook Choi
‘There Are Gods Around Us’ by Ghost and John
Closing performance, 18 July, 2-6 pm
Studio 101 Courtyard, 1 Resolution Way, London SE8 4NT
“Have you eaten yet?” is equivalent to “how are you?” in many Asian cultures. This question carries a tangible, direct sense of care towards one’s livelihood & health, which often leads to impromptu food sharing. In line with these ethics of reciprocal care and hospitality, Have You Eaten Yet? will create an affectionate healing space for the local community during Deptford X Festival 2021, built through excavated stories, interventions and performances celebrating radical expressions of Asian joy.
Over the course of the exhibition, the audience will have a grasp of the traces of these performances and further and activate them by enjoying the letters, stories, food sculpture, the remnant scent, and making DIY music albums.
The exhibition ends with the durational performance ‘There Are Gods Around Us’ by Ghost & John, an extract from their previous work “Meniscus”. This durational performance is a devised work by each of the performers, where they tell stories about the imaginary gods they write up, and perform a made-up ritualistic dance of the god. Taking reference from East Asian mythology, traditions and rituals, it is a queer and Asian work that looks into what hope means in our age of great instability and crisis.
Have You Eaten Yet? is curated by Jessie Jing, Monica Tolia and Youngsook Choi from the Deptford X Peer Network, an evolving group of Black and POC artists and arts organisers affiliated with Deptford X.
Ghost and John are a Hong Kong multidisciplinary art duo who are best known for their innovative integration of performance and contemporary technologies. They graduated from MA in Contemporary Dance, London Contemporary Dance School. Drawing from their experiences of working within biology and computer science, they have developed a dynamic artistic practice that examines the intricacies of the body and nature, technological advances and folklore that accompany history. Their embrace of digital technology allows them to create extended choreographic experience beyond theatre and dance, and broadcast their arts to wider audiences. Their works have been presented internationally at The Place and the Vault Festival in London, ImPulsTanz in Vienna and Goethe-Institut in Hong Kong. A selection of their recent works include online interactive work ‘Meniscus Going Online’, durational performance/ community installation ‘Thousand Papers’, live performance ‘Skirmishes’ and video collaboration with Moongate Production ‘No Time For Tears’.
Instagram:
Cường Phạm @phambinho | nts.live/shows/phambinho
Ghost & John @ghostandjohn | ghostandjohn.art
Jessie Jing @jingely | thedisoriental.com
Monica Tolia @mon_tolia | monicatolia.com
Songsoo Kim IG: @kim_songsoo
Taey Iohe @taey.iohe | taey.com
Youngsook Choi @young.sook.choi | youngsookchoi.com
