Jake Mace
Performed over three nights throughout Adelaide Fringe, Vincy Chan descirbes STILL 默默 as an artist’s multimedia exploration of grief, gender, and nostalgia through a fictional reimagination of a retrofuturist Hong Kong. With plenty to fill their hour-long runtime, we wanted to dive into their show, which takes place through the lens of Sai Biu, played by Vincy, and the unwilling heir of Hong Kong’s largest mafia.
We caught up with Vincy for a pixelated pint ahead of his final performance in a week’s time. So join us for a pixelated pint as we get behind the scenes of this unique multi-disciplinary piece.
You can catch STILL 默默 at Nexus Arts Venue next Friday 14th March at 6pm (60mins). Tickets are available through the Adelaide Fringe Online Box Office.
Jake: Hi Vincy! Your Adelaide Fringe shows explores a retrofuturistic Hong Kong through the eyes of a character called Sai Biu. Tell us about him as a character and the setting of the show.
Vincy: Sai Biu is the unwilling heir of Hong Kong’s largest triad (underground societies that engage in organized crime). The show follows his journey after his adoptive father’s sudden passing.
STILL 默默 is set in a fictionalized Hong Kong in the near future. The show is specifically set in 2037, a decade before China’s guarantee that Hong Kong’s way of life “will remain unchanged for 50 years” is set to expire. For those who might not be familiar, this was part of the negotiation between Britain and China about the handover of Hong Kong. As a transgender adoptee and triad leader in a patriarchal world and politically volatile society, Sai Biu is trying to figure out what his place is in all of this. The show does draw on real events but is very much my queer (re)interpretation of contemporary history of my home city.
Jake: The piece grapples with themes of grief, gender, and nostalgia – tell us about what you’ve found at the intersection of those themes and how it’s impacted your developing of the piece.
Vincy: STILL 默默 is semi-autobiographical in a way. I have moved around quite a bit as an adult. Having left Hong Kong to move to Adelaide in 2022 (shortly after the protests in 2019), I finally felt like I am in the headspace to process my emotions both about recent developments in Hong Kong and my own experiences. To do so, I needed a shift from telling these stories as myself/ “singer-songwriter Vincy” and to have a safe distance away from my lived experiences.
Sai Biu was originally just a character I built as a VTuber alter ego, set in an alternate universe Hong Kong that’s been in my head for a decade now. Hong Kong has obviously changed a lot in the last ten years, as has this alternate universe.
I ended up channelling more of myself into him than I had planned. He is restless, sometimes resentful, but also strong-willed. It is through him that I can explore what “could have been” and what “can be” on an individual and societal level.
Jake: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?
Vincy: Hong Kong has been an inspiration to so much of pop culture, from movies to anime to video games. In many cases, Hong Kong’s cityscape and urban life serves as a backdrop, but the lives of those who live in the city (or its fictional imagination) are rarely the main plot. STILL 默默 is part of a larger project that I’m building that examines Hong Kong’s role in culture making.
It’s hard to get all of that across in under an hour, but at the very least I want the audience to experience my collage of Hong Kong through different art forms (original song, photography, illustrations)!
Jake Now we’re in the throes of Adelaide Fringe, what are you most excited for?
Vincy: Watching other people’s (especially Asian/Asian-Australian) shows! I feel like I have finally found my footing after being here for almost three years and I am very grateful to have met creatives who have been very generous with their networks and their knowledge. I want to see what other people are working on!
Jake: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Vincy: Probably Oolong-infused gin with longan and osmanthus. All flavors that I adored growing up but with a kick.
You can catch STILL 默默 at Nexus Arts Venue next Friday 14th March at 6pm (60mins). Tickets are available through the Adelaide Fringe Online Box Office.
Madeleine Martin
Kat Burton
