First Birthday is a supervised performance exploring the existential crisis of international students. By interacting with musical installations, Jane experienced a complex dream — when you live abroad for a few years, you get disconnected from your home country. There’s often a nostalgia for home, but upon returning, you feel that the current realities do not line up with the past memories.
First Birthday is a supervised performance exploring the existential crisis of international students. By interacting with musical installations, Jane experienced a complex dream — when you live abroad for a few years, you get disconnected from your home country. There’s often a nostalgia for home, but upon returning, you feel that the current realities do not line up with the past memories.
You experience new cultures and lifestyles, see new things, learn new ideologies, and meet new people. Your mindset and worldview inevitably change as you begin to assimilate some aspects of the “new stuff” that when you go back it feels like you have outgrown your previous memories and perspectives. Your hometown has changed, and you have changed too.
You experience new cultures and lifestyles, see new things, learn new ideologies, and meet new people. Your mindset and worldview inevitably change as you begin to assimilate some aspects of the “new stuff” that when you go back it feels like you have outgrown your previous memories and perspectives. Your hometown has changed, and you have changed too.
However, the place abroad doesn’t feel like home quite yet since you couldn’t completely comprehend its culture, don’t have a family there yet, lack deep-rooted connections compared to people who were born there, look different, and are ultimately restricted by legal and political limitations like visas and international relationships.
However, the place abroad doesn’t feel like home quite yet since you couldn’t completely comprehend its culture, don’t have a family there yet, lack deep-rooted connections compared to people who were born there, look different, and are ultimately restricted by legal and political limitations like visas and international relationships.
You love some of the new experiences in the host country but you feel like these experiences are “rented” to you and you need to return them once your visa expires, since it is unlikely someone would host you otherwise — there’s not a “home” that is there for you.
You love some of the new experiences in the host country but you feel like these experiences are “rented” to you and you need to return them once your visa expires, since it is unlikely someone would host you otherwise — there’s not a “home” that is there for you.
You are now too different from home, but not quite fitting abroad. You feel like you’ve lost your sense of belonging altogether. With the current global politics, it is likely that this existential crisis of international students will become a cycle that repeats itself.
You are now too different from home, but not quite fitting abroad. You feel like you’ve lost your sense of belonging altogether. With the current global politics, it is likely that this existential crisis of international students will become a cycle that repeats itself.
* Lift Not the Painted Veil *
* Lift Not the Painted Veil *
Year
2024
Artistic Era
Nostalgia Rain
Medium
Video (color, sound)
Interactive MIDI installations, Arduino Uno board, breadboard, jumper wires, resistor, piezo buzzers, USB cable, copper tape, cake, candles, paper plates, plastic utensils, lighter, flowers, glass vase, rubber band, marker on paper, hand-held mirror, inkjet prints on paper, photo frames, hourglass, sketchbooks, stuffed toys, paper box, and blue tape
3D-rendered images, developed with Blender
Supervised performance
Sizes & Duration
3840 x 2160 px, 13:50
Variable dimensions
3840 x 2160 px each
13:50
Credit
original story by
Sierra Zhang
Starring
Maya Liu
Weston Ducan
Belinda Liu
directed by
Sierra Zhang
produced by
Belinda Liu
3D Design & Art Direction
Sierra Zhang
MIDI Technologies
Belinda Liu
Set & Sound Design
Sierra Zhang
Belinda Liu
Soundtrack Composition
Sierra Zhang
Belinda Liu
Camerawork
Sierra Zhang
Camera Assist & Behind-the-scene
Belinda Liu
Property
Belinda Liu
Sierra Zhang
Lighting & Stage management
Sierra Zhang
Belinda Liu
Music Technical Supervising
Nils Patrick Bultmann
Video Editing
Sierra zhang
Sound recording contribution
Nils Patrick Bultmann
Darren Chandra
Weston Duncan
Alex Englund
Yujin Huh
Bronzmer Lai
Maya Liu
Belinda Liu
Sierra Zhang
Christopher Mun
©Copyright 2024 Sierra Zhang, belinda Liu, and Lonely Corridor Studio.
Year
2024
Artistic Era
Nostalgia Rain
Medium
Video (color, sound)
Interactive MIDI installations, Arduino Uno board, breadboard, jumper wires, resistor, piezo buzzers, USB cable, copper tape, cake, candles, paper plates, plastic utensils, lighter, flowers, glass vase, rubber band, marker on paper, hand-held mirror, inkjet prints on paper, photo frames, hourglass, sketchbooks, stuffed toys, paper box, and blue tape
3D-rendered images, developed with Blender
Supervised performance
Sizes & Duration
3840 x 2160 px, 13:50
Variable dimensions
3840 x 2160 px each
13:50
Credit
original story by
Sierra Zhang
Starring
Maya Liu
Weston Ducan
Belinda Liu
directed by
Sierra Zhang
produced by
Belinda Liu
3D Design & Art Direction
Sierra Zhang
MIDI Technologies
Belinda Liu
Set & Sound Design
Sierra Zhang
Belinda Liu
Soundtrack Composition
Sierra Zhang
Belinda Liu
Camerawork
Sierra Zhang
Camera Assist & Behind-the-scene
Belinda Liu
Property
Belinda Liu
Sierra Zhang
Lighting & Stage management
Sierra Zhang
Belinda Liu
Music Technical Supervising
Nils Patrick Bultmann
Video Editing
Sierra zhang
Sound recording contribution
Nils Patrick Bultmann
Darren Chandra
Weston Duncan
Alex Englund
Yujin Huh
Bronzmer Lai
Maya Liu
Belinda Liu
Sierra Zhang
Christopher Mun
©Copyright 2024 Sierra Zhang, belinda Liu, and Lonely Corridor Studio.