Artistic Research and Dramaturgical Framework:on Oceans, Islands, and Pirates
Beyond the Shore is a travelling series that connects different coastal locations at sea through research and performance.
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BEYOND THE SHORE
A sea-based artistic research
Hong Kong is a metropolis; Hong Kong is a metropolitan city by the sea.
“Beyond the shore” is an ongoing oceanic artistic research that delves into the realm of sea myths and legends, livelihoods from ancient times and speculative futures. Focusing on Inter-Asian maritime histories and feminist mythologies, this project reconnects people from in-land to sea civilisation through research, public sharing, and performances, which invites alternative modes of thinking from a land-based to a sea-based perspective. The work also works from a relational approach between various cultures across geographical locations.
This research is initiated by artist Alysa Leung, scholar Dr. Evelyn Wan, and filmmaker Anson Sham. In different editions of the research and performance, we collaborate with other artists and creative partners.
The film has been screened online in the Let's be Together Festival (2024).
Lu Xun, 盧循
In the late Eastern Jin dynasty, a rebellion that was ideologically connected to the "Taoism of Five Bushels of Rice" broke out. This event is historically referred to as the "Sun En and Lo Chun Rebellion." After the death of Sun En, Lo Chun was chosen as the main commander and took the lead in continuing the resistance. They fought for nine years before Lo Chun ultimately jumped into the ocean.
(Photo from the Internet)
Lo Ting, 盧亭
Lo Ting is a mermaid legend in Hong Kong. Different ancient texts have different records of them. Unlike our typical perception of mermaids, they have fish heads and human bodies, with fair skin, yellow hair, and yellow eyes. They lack the ability to speak but they can smile. It is said that they appear around Lantau Island and are believed to be ancestors of the Tanka people.
Statue of Lo Ting by Jimmy Keung, exhibited at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum, 1998. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Ching I Sao, 鄭一嫂
Zheng Yi Sao was originally a Tanka prostitute. She was captured by the pirate leader Zheng Yi and became his wife. Together, they ruled over six fleets and led the biggest fleet, the “Red Flag Fleet”. After Zheng Yi’s death, she remarried their adoptive son, Cheung Po Tsai, and took control of the pirate federation. She established “laws” and a “passport” system to run her federation. At its peak, the confederation had over 2000 ships and 70,000 personnel. Further details can be found in "History of the Pirates who infested the China Sea."
The woman in red in “Besieging the pirates in Lantau,” is believed to be Zheng Yi Sao, from "Pacifying the South China Sea". (Image from Google Arts & Culture - Hong Kong Maritime Museum)
About 'Us'
NOV 2023
PENG CHAU, HONG KONG
INTER-ISLAND FESTIVAL WITH GIGI TANG
“Beyond the Shore" (Peng Chau version) connects mythology, history, and gender through an interactive performance, and invites the audience members to embark on a journey of self-reflection. We explored the relationship with the sea between islanders and non-islanders through a series of local interviews.
AUG 2024
SURABAYA, INDONESIA
THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION OF ASIA SCHOLARS (ICAS)
Through a dual-channel video installation and a live lecture performance, we reinvestigate Hong Kong's coastal histories and role as a port city in the colonial era. This work takes on an ocean-centric/ archipelagic perspective that focuses on diasporic identities in the South China Sea.
Media Coverage
香港三面環海，自古流傳不少與海洋有關的傳說。除了眾所周知的張保仔外，另一位鮮為人知的海盜女王「鄭一嫂」亦曾縱橫四海、聲名顯赫。香港創作者、劇場構作梁海頤（Alysa）便以這些被塵封的本土傳說為靈感，創作藝術作品《彼岸》。今期讓我們透過她的視角，一起重新發掘坪洲這座小島......
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