About “Cocoon”
“Cocoon” is a 45-minute ceremony performed by Jas Lin and Kyoko Takenaka underneath Ahn Lee’s sculpture of the same title. Exploring grief through the container of a cocoon, the performers embody ancestry and progeny, railroad worker and Chop Suey circuit nightclub dancer, silkworm and moth, light and shadow, as they move through non-linear cycles of metamorphosis between the simultaneous truths of trauma, pain, freedom, and joy in their lineage.
Notes on performing during the COVID-19 pandemic
“Cocoon” was performed at the first in-person opening of SOMArts Cultural Center since the pandemic began. The gallery relayed certain asks of this performance during its development that became integral to the performance itself.
1. “Masks must be worn by everyone inside at all times regardless of vaccination status.”
2. “What we want to avoid is a big crowd trying to gather to see the performance.”
We thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated working with the gallery and all their hard work, including negotiation, in order to ensure the performance was able to happen. Our gratitude goes out to the SOMArts team, especially Carolina Quintanilla.
Artist Bios
Jas Lin + Kyoko Takenaka are non-binary polydisciplinary performance artists who share a tender friendship and synergetic artistic practices incorporating butoh, healing modalities, and experimental filmmaking. Together, they have presented live performances, films, and workshops at spaces such as ArtShareLA (cavern [穴 ]), Highways Performance Space (Asian America: The Future Is Now), and QnA LA (Body Is Our Birthright). Play is a central element in their creative process, interwoven with themes of ritual, growth, impermanence, and the in-between.
www.jas-lin.work
www.kyokotakenaka.com
Ahn Lee is a nonbinary, queer, Cantonese artist and researcher. Their interdisciplinary practice of ceramics, media and performance relies on a combined methodology of autobiographical re-making and research on the Cantonese diaspora. As a person of Sunwui (Xinhui) descent, Ahn explores their ancestral roots to this contested site of capitalism and imperialism through leveraging archival research, historiography, critical race and gender theory. Ahn is currently a graduate student in the Art Practice Department at UC Berkeley and will receive their MFA in June 2022. Ahn Lee is this year’s San Francisco Foundation Jack K. and Gertrude Murphy Award Recipient.
a-z-lee.com
Aidan Jung has a passion for storytelling, creative problem-solving, project management and team leadership. With five years of experience in film production and two years as a VFX artist, Aidan Jung is currently a full time VFX artist and Director at Ntropic in San Francisco. Prior to this position, Aidan was a full time VFX artist and Flame Assistant at JOINT Editorial (Wieden and Kennedy), and editor for Sound Images producing international Nike content.
Credits
A Collaborative Performance Project by Ahn Lee, Jas Lin and Kyoko Takenaka
Performed by Jas Lin and Kyoko Takenaka
Documentation by Aidan Jung
Edited by Ahn Lee, Jas Lin, Aidan Jung and Kyoko Takenaka
Music by
Kyoko Takenaka
Bintang Manira
Ghaliz Haris
Morgan Sully
Recorded in Berlin, Germany August 2021
Ceramic Sculptures by Ahn Lee
Installation at SOMArts Cultural Center
for the 2021 Murphy and Cadogan Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition
Curated by Kevin B. Chen
on September 10, 2021
In honor of the 2021 Murphy Award Winner Ahn Lee
Presented by the San Francisco Foundation and SOMArts
Dedicated to our elders, our ancestors
those we talk to every day
who guide our work, our movement and our hearts.