A Performance & Research project from Yingmei Duan in collaboration with the Chinese Arts Centre in Manchester

I have been a practicing artist for 19 years, during the last 11 years of which, I have been residing in Germany. Since 2000, I have worked exclusively in the area of live art. In my exploration of live art, I have developed a large number of performances and performance installations that combine a specifically created environment with the artist’s body. Some of my performances such as “Bedroom” have a set running time, which is as long as 8 months. This interaction with the audience creates a special bond that requires a certain amount of investment on their part. This is particularly rewarding with viewers from a non-arts background and their responses have often fueled further works. I often create impulsive and spontaneous performances as situational experiments, reacting to a particular space or environment but in contrast others are developed with intense attention being paid to the last detail.

At the centre of my live art practice is an exploration of human instincts, longings, and dark desires. I examine the processes of society and question its conventions and behaviours.

As a Chinese artist living in Germany I am particularly influenced by different cultures and contributing to the relationship between Europe and China through my live art practice.

It is my belief that live art, above other forms of visual art, has the greatest potential to connect with society through its directness and spontaneous relationship with an audience.

Since 2008 I have been working on a collaborative performance project with the artist Feng Weidong. This project, “Filial Piety”, relates to the Chinese notion of Xiao Sun, which translates to the love and respect for one’s parents and ancestors. This is considered one of the first and most important virtues in China. Feng and I have used ‘Filial Piety’ as a common starting point in our performances even though our subsequent representations of this virtue are diverse. As society is changing, people’s moral consciousness and attitude towards “Filial Piety” are in a constant state of change. The performance attempts to capture and mirror the clashing and distance that often characterises different generations in China. Feng and I have been researching the relationships between different generations within the Chinese family structure, allowing an audience to question, explore and understand the current problems in China.

Over the past few years huge developments have taken place in China and the economy has grown enormously. Chinese people have had to adapt to this very quickly and have found themselves with much improved social conditions and personal wealth. When I last visited China, I noticed an overriding obsession with wealth from many of the people with whom I came in contact. This fixation with money seems in some way to replace the desire for culture within contemporary Chinese society. It is my opinion that art has a necessary role within society and it is important that I use my live art practice to highlight this.

From my experience in many countries in Europe, art is ingrained into the fabric of society. It is a tool for education as well as a form of entertainment and the influence of art can be seen in many aspects of society. In contrast, the notion that art has the ability to effect social change is not such a commonly held belief in China. It is my intention to use my residency at Chinese Arts Centre to investigate how art is experienced in the UK.

The research will focus on the many facets of art education, both within schools, universities and evening classes but also within the museum and gallery sector. These organisations provide an important supplement to art education to all levels of children as well as adults, which enhances the way art is taught in the UK. I plan to expand my research to Germany and China and I will collate the feedback to create a dialogue and debate between arts educators, arts professionals and the wider public.

In addition, I will also use my residency period to create a series of live art works and experimental workshops that I will realise within Chinese Arts Centre.

This project is supported by the Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony

作为一名旅居德国的中国艺术家，我特别受到不同文化的影响，并通过我的现场艺术实践为欧洲和中国的关系做出贡献。

我相信，与其他形式的视觉艺术相比，现场艺术最有可能通过其与观众的直接性和自发性关系与社会联系起来。

自 2008 年以来，我一直在与艺术家冯卫东合作进行一个表演项目。这个名为“孝顺”的项目与小孙的中国观念有关，这意味着对父母和祖先的爱和尊重。这被认为是中国最早也是最重要的美德之一。冯和我把“孝”作为我们表演的共同出发点，尽管我们后来对这种美德的表现是多种多样的。随着社会的变化，人们对“孝”的道德意识和态度也在不断变化。表演试图捕捉和反映中国不同代人经常出现的冲突和距离。冯和我一直在研究中国家庭结构中不同代际之间的关系，让观众质疑、探索和了解中国当前的问题。

在过去的几年里，中国发生了巨大的发展，经济也有了巨大的增长。中国人不得不很快适应这一点，发现自己的社会条件和个人财富有了很大改善。当我上次访问中国时，我注意到与我接触的许多人都对财富有着压倒一切的痴迷。这种对金钱的迷恋似乎在某种程度上取代了当代中国社会对文化的渴望。我认为艺术在社会中具有必要的作用，重要的是我用我的现场艺术实践来强调这一点。

从我在欧洲许多国家的经历来看，艺术已根深蒂固地融入社会结构。它是一种教育工具，也是一种娱乐形式，艺术的影响可以在社会的许多方面看到。相比之下，艺术有能力影响社会变革的观念在中国并不普遍。我打算利用我在中国艺术中心的居留权来调查英国的艺术体验。

该研究将侧重于艺术教育的许多方面，包括学校、大学和夜校，以及博物馆和画廊部门。这些组织为各级儿童和成人的艺术教育提供了重要的补充，从而改善了英国的艺术教学方式。我计划将我的研究扩展到德国和中国，我将整理反馈，以在艺术教育者、艺术专业人士和更广泛的公众之间建立对话和辩论。

此外，我还将利用我的驻留时间在中国艺术中心创作一系列现场艺术作品和实验工作坊。

该项目得到了下萨克森州科学和文化部的支持