Women Cinemakers ‘Fat, femme and asian’ about how this song does a similar reclamation from Kim Chi’s experience of being called ‘fat, femme and asian’ as a negative. Then, BAM… got onto drawing it out. Visually, FAG is inspired by The Holy Mountain by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Keiji Haino. I’m really fascinated by film that uses striking imagery to capture attention and this is what I attempted in FAG. I wanted to make strong choices about different gendered materials (wigs, heels, make-up, etc) and use dancers bodies to decorate them with. I wanted to keep it simple, androgynous or genderfucking. Elegantly shot, FAG features stunning cinematography by Alex Newton and a keen eye for details: what were your aesthetic decisions when shooting? In particular, what was your choice about camera and lens? Honestly, the details about camera and lenses is still stuff I’m learning about. Alex did a really good job at capturing what I wanted just by me providing storyboards and directing. Featuring essential and well-orchestrated choreography, FAG involves the audience in a voyeuristic and heightened visual experience, urging them to challenge their perceptual categories to create personal narratives: what are you hoping FAG will trigger in the spectatorship? In particular, how much important is for you to address the viewer's imagination in order to elaborate personal associations?
I hope FAG allowed the audience to feel like an intrusive bug. I attempted to allow the camera to look into places of the body that we all look at but don’t want to always admit. With the androgynous / genderfucking style of FAG I wanted to address the uncomfortable stares people may experience when they are gender non-conforming or trans. I think with this style there is a curious reaction (that is also rooted deep into societies’ love of the gender binary) to know what sex the bodies are. This is why I focus on the crotches and all the little details.. but in a way that attempts a confusion between the bodies so that the spectator has to almost let go of their imagination and accept what they are seeing as what it is and maybe an alternate reality. So far, I’ve had viewers react with disgust and delight. The disgust is usually coming from a homophobic view point and the delight is usually coming from a hope of a better future for gendered ideas. We have appreciated the way your approach to dance conveys sense of freedom and reflects rigorous approach to the grammar of body language: how do you consider the relationship between the necessity of scheduling the details of your performative gestures and the need of spontaneity? How much importance does play improvisation in your process? Throughout all of my work, play and improvisation are key. For me, it’s a way to find the life of what you want to say and from there you can capture it, refine it and relive it later.