Watching

Common Groundwork Public Performance,

Yinchuan, China

Oct 2024

Common Groundwork, an exchange programme funded by the British Council and Culture Ireland, provided the opportunity for five Bbeyond artists to make the cultural trip to Yinchuan, China. A busy week was spent learning about the area, the culture and local people ending with a public performance in a park on a bridge over the Yellow River.

During the visit we realised how few western visitors came to the area as we were stopped for photos everywhere we went. Sometimes we were asked to be in selfies, other times photos were just taken by locals, curious to see foreigners.

My performance was influenced by the level of surveillance obvious throughout the trip.

Artists involved: Rebecca Strain, Emma Brennan, Paul Moore, Bronagh Lawson and Zara Lyness.

A woman sitting on the ground in front of a decorative teal fence, holding a stick with paper lanterns or decorations. There is an open notebook, marker, and bottles of ink or paint on the ground. She is wearing a beige cap with black X’s, a dark jacket, and beige pants.
A group of four people outdoors holding small illustrated pieces of paper with eye drawings, smiling, with trees in the background.
A woman sitting on the ground drawing in a book, two backpacks nearby, and a person standing in the background with a city skyline and trees behind her.
A woman lying on the ground with balloons around her, another person crouched nearby with face obscured, and a third person sitting with closed eyes wearing a hat and jacket, beside a fanciful blue and white fence.
A person sitting on a bench, wearing a beige hat with black X's, a dark jacket, and khaki pants, holding a string of white paper flags with a drawing of an eye, with a light blue decorative fence in the background.
A woman sitting on the ground, holding a string with small art pieces attached, with an open sketchbook, bottles of ink, and markers nearby. She wears a beige cap with black designs and a dark jacket, with trees and a bridge in the background.
Person sitting on the ground in front of a decorative fence, holding a paper lantern. The person is wearing a beige hat with X marks, a dark jacket, and beige pants, with an open notebook and small bottles on the ground.