{"id":630042,"date":"2026-09-28T13:06:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T13:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/630042\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T13:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T13:06:14","slug":"chinese-opera-queerness-and-cantopop-star-leslie-cheung-artist-isaac-chong-wai-on-the-inspirations-for-his-new-performance-the-art-newspaper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/630042\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese opera, queerness and Cantopop star Leslie Cheung: artist Isaac Chong Wai on the inspirations for his new performance – The Art Newspaper"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up in Hong Kong, Isaac Chong Wai was fascinated by the city\u2019s cultural icon Leslie Cheung. Besides being remembered as a Cantopop legend and multifaceted actor, Cheung, who died in 2003 by suicide, was also among a handful of pioneering celebrities who went public about their sexuality. The star\u2019s wide-ranging performances left a mark on Chong\u2019s formative years as he navigated his own identity.<\/p>\n

Chong has now cultivated a path of his own, leading a life as an Asian diaspora artist in Berlin while gaining international recognition for his practice, stretching from performance and sculptures to installations and videos. Following his major presentations at the 2024 Venice Biennale and 2025 Taipei Biennial, Chong recently returned to Hong Kong to stage his first solo live art exhibition, An Intimate Surrender<\/a>, at Tai Kwun Contemporary, which ran until 9 August.<\/p>\n

In this homecoming show organised by Louiza Ho, associate curator of Tai Kwun Contemporary, Chong developed a performance drawing inspiration from one of his idol\u2019s most iconic films, Farewell My Concubine, as an entry point to critically explore the concepts of Asian masculinity and queer identity.<\/p>\n

The Art Newspaper: You have lived in Berlin, your adopted home, for over a decade. What does it mean to you to stage a show in Hong Kong, the city where you grew up?<\/p>\n

Isaac Chong Wai: Hong Kong is my hometown, so receiving a live art commission from Tai Kwun felt like a true homecoming. I began reflecting on my time growing up and asking, \u201cWho am I?\u201d I recalled my fascination with the late Cantopop star and actor Leslie Cheung. Growing up, he was more than an idol; he was a brave queer icon who lived authentically. His artistry had a profound impact on me and still does to this date. He became the primary inspiration for this performance.<\/p>\n

Why did you choose the 1993 film Farewell My Concubine, directed by Chen Kaige, as your main reference?<\/p>\n

I revisited the film, in which Leslie Cheung plays the character of Cheng Dieyi, a celebrated Peking opera artist renowned for playing the female Dan role. The film is a multi-layered story about performing, straddling the line between a fictionalised body and reality\u2014his character falls in love with the man who is also his on-stage partner playing his character\u2019s love interest. His character does not have a choice in reality, but through his performance he finds his freedom and the fulfilment of his desire for intimacy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

An\u00a0Intimate Surrender Tai Ngai Lung<\/p>\n

The film also has a Hong Kong connection. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by Hong Kong author Lilian Lee (Lee Pik-Wah). In her original story, certain scenes are set in Hong Kong. The story also centres around Peking opera\u2014a form of Chinese opera that is an integral part of Chinese cultural heritage. Although the departure point of this work was rather personal, as I reflect on my roots and identity, I wanted to create a work reflecting on our wider cultural memories and connections to deeper cultural roots.<\/p>\n

How are these elements reflected in your performance?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have a Chinese opera background but when I was kid, you would be mocked for using the \u201cOrchid Hand\u201d [a Chinese opera hand gesture played by the female Dan role, mimicking the gentle shape of orchid petals]. You would be labelled because of its perceived femininity. But why is this cultural gesture so engraved into our body that people can instantly realise what it stands for? It is a small gesture, but a very powerful one that shapes our gender performativity.<\/p>\n

I intentionally used Orchid Hand gestures in my choreography. It leads the dancers to move in a certain direction while questioning these inherited cultural memories, as if they are already embedded in our bodies without us ever asking for them.<\/p>\n

How did your performers respond to this?<\/p>\n

We have about 11 dancers, mostly from Hong Kong as well as Taiwan, mainland China and the Philippines, with backgrounds from contemporary dance, ballet and Chinese dance. When I introduced the Orchid Hand during our rehearsal, the energy shifted dramatically. Their bodily movements immediately became curved and delicate, responding to the gesture\u2019s femininity even if they weren\u2019t trained in Chinese opera. It became a shared language among us. It was a fascinating process.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Chong\u2019s durational performance An Intimate Surrender (2026) used the Chinese opera \u201cOrchid Hand\u201d gesture in\u00a0its choreography \u201cas a metaphor for identity and heritage\u201d Tai Ngai Lung<\/p>\n

Home is a major theme in art world discourse today. When you call this a \u201chomecoming\u201d show, what does that mean to you?<\/p>\n

To me, home is family. I invited my family to see this show, and through this process, I spoke with my mother about her own experience performing Chinese opera during her childhood in northern China.<\/p>\n

Having been away for nearly 15 years, I\u2019ve reflected on my growth, particularly regarding my queer identity. Unlike Leslie Cheung, I wasn\u2019t brave enough to discuss my sexuality then. My life abroad has shaped me into a different person. Returning to where I grew up, I am merging the familiar with the newly discovered to create a \u201cnew familiar\u201d.<\/p>\n

This echoes Cheng Dieyi\u2019s journey. Through performance, he creates a world where he can experience intimacy and freedom. I\u2019m proud to use the Orchid Hand as a metaphor for identity and heritage.<\/p>\n

Would your career have been different if you had stayed in Hong Kong?<\/p>\n

I did not have the chance to travel growing up. My desire to go abroad and have different cultural experiences emerged when I studied art at university. I began to explore the world after I graduated. A lot of my work responds to my life and my surroundings, so I can imagine my work would be quite different had I stayed in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Chong\u2019s Falling Reversely at the 2024 Venice Biennale combined live performance and multi-channel video Atsushi Kakefuda, courtesy of the artist and Blindspot Gallery<\/p>\n

But does it mean that you would be considered \u201cmaking it\u201d if you have been abroad? There is indeed such a mindset among our generation growing up [in Hong Kong] during the British colonial times. But I would say it is more about working across different contexts, people and platforms. Take the Venice Biennale, where I showed in its main exhibition two years ago, for example. The show was seen by nearly 700,000 people. It is a platform that connects art with a wider audience, making art a part of their memories. Tai Kwun is also a platform serving similar purposes.<\/p>\n

I hope there will be more spaces allowing artists to embrace the challenges and push the boundaries. I attended Berlin Pride [in July after] launching my Hong Kong show. I am still in shock at the brutal attack on this event [one person was killed and 29 injured in a terrorist attack]. It was a reminder that support and openness to differences cannot be taken for granted.<\/p>\n

Biography<\/p>\n

Born: 1990<\/p>\n

Lives and works: Berlin<\/p>\n

Education: 2012 BA, Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University; 2016 MFA, Bauhaus-Universit\u00e4t Weimar, Germany<\/p>\n

Key shows: 2023 Isaac Chong Wai in Dialogue with Joseph Beuys: The End of Growth, Museum Schloss Moyland; 2024 60th Venice Biennale and Bangkok Art Biennale; 2025 14th Taipei Biennial<\/p>\n

Represented by: Blindspot Gallery, Hong Kong; Zilberman Gallery, Berlin and Istanbul<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Growing up in Hong Kong, Isaac Chong Wai was fascinated by the city\u2019s cultural icon Leslie Cheung. Besides…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630043,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[148012,146,6545,3448,85,284847,46,87004,128210],"class_list":["post-630042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-artist-interview","tag-entertainment","tag-exhibitions","tag-hong-kong","tag-il","tag-isaac-chong-wai","tag-israel","tag-performance-art","tag-tai-kwun-contemporary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}