What does massage mean to you?
For Budi Kang-Hua Chang, it is love.
In Massaging into Marriage, the artist treats “massage” and “marriage” as metaphors for one another: if touch and acceptance were no longer temporary, but something permanent, would that be marriage?
This presentation is a lecture-performance from the early stage of the research. This fieldwork practice invites participants to shed the social roles and identities they wear, and to encounter one another naked through massage alone. Here, massage is not only about relaxing the muscles, but also about accepting one’s vulnerabilities and unspoken desires. The flow between “giving” and “receiving” reflects the power dynamics within intimate relationships.
Budi Kang-Hua Chang / Taiwan / Performance Artist
Budi Kang-Hua Chang is a performance artist and co-founder of the Taipei-based collective Co-Coism. Born in Singkawang, Indonesia, and educated in Taiwan, Chang deeply roots his trans-disciplinary practice in his family’s migration paths across China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Taiwan.
In his practice, Chang positions his own body and lived experience as a living archive. Navigating the ambiguous space between the autobiographical and the autofictional, he translates the complex realities of immigration, physical displacement, and social mobility into tangible theatrical encounters. This approach is realized through intimate, participatory performances, where tactile rituals like shampooing or massaging serve as mediums to unpack inherited memories. Chang's artistic contributions have been recognized with an Honorable Mention at the 2025 Taipei Art Awards, and he is an alumnus of the 2018 ADAM Artist Lab at the Taipei Performing Arts Center.
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