Welcome:) 趁热吃吧

I’m a hybrid visual artist preoccupied with body, tech, (para)text, and spatial magik/rituals. My speculative multi-lingual~multi-lore practice is bookended by an evolving philosophy of slow working~slow living~pleasure.

I make work under a primary alias Derrick Duan.

As a migrant settler, I work and live on what always was and always will be the land of the Boonwurrung and Woiworung people of the Kulin nation. Indigenous sovereignty has never been ceded.
ou must enjoy the process / we cannot be satisfied with the recognition generated by the very system that denies our ability to find each other / you generate your own magic / the act of living intentionally is a creative process in itself / shame is not sustainable / y
Scroll down for a selection of my recent works. Click each to unfold.


Maxim of the day:
1.You are what you eat
2.Time is not linear
3.过犹不及
Looking for more?
My entire catalogue is listed and can be found here, the archive.

Or click here to instantly ascend.
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derrick.duan.322@gmail.com

醒 Xǐng


Video Work / Aug 2022

Lion dance, like many other millennia-old Chinese traditions, is both the distillation of a living, vibrant culture, and the product of a patriarchal society stubborn and tunnel-visioned. It, too, shares the Chinese State's ambiguity towards queerness, trans rights, and gender nonconformity. Facing crackdowns, persecution and backlashes from both political authorities, online multimedia sector and a growing number of nationalist crusaders, LGBTQI+ groups still struggle to find a safe footing in the broader contemporary picture of China.

is my attempt to subvert this cultural and society norm, by taking the tradition of Lion dance, its literal facade -- the Lion's face -- and queerifying it. I choreographed hand and arm movements, and performed with tight, wet shoulder-length latex gloves in front of a green screen to a camera. The movements are then keyed out, collaged and meticulously timed into the final video work. The Lion moves slowly, blinking, breathing, all the while challenging the viewer with a unwavering, inquisitive stare.
Premiered at Bendigo White Night.
Also shown at Footscray Community Arts.
Concept, performance and post-production by D Duan.
Camera and set assistant by Derek Ho.