TPAC X Chen Yu-Dien X Feng Cheng-Tsung：The Rite of Lobster

The Rite of Lobster is commissioned by Taipei Performing Arts Center and premiered at the 2023 Taipei Arts Festival.

Lobsters shed their entire exoskeleton when they grow (and they continue to grow throughout their lives), retaining no hard structures which is the primary method for science to determine the age of an individual. Thus the popular myth of the immortality of lobster. Yet this assumed immortality hardly ever gets to live out. Global supply chains carry this “precious live cargo” from trap to table every day, as lobster, a symbol of fertility and affluence for humans, becomes sacrificed on our table.

Ruminating on this process of shedding life, director Chen Yu Dien invites performers and visitors to immerse in The Rite of Lobster in a space crafted by the installation artist Feng Cheng Tsung. The bamboo installation embodies organic patterns of marine life and segments of crustaceans. It continues to grow as the performers weave on. Various relations unfold between this living installation and the visitors, changing the positions of human beings in this handmade ecosystem.

Like an ancient lobster shedding its shell time after time, if it manages not to be found, it lives forever. A survival principle for human beings to come.

 

 

【Information】

Director｜Chen Yu-Dien（Taiwan）
Born in 1990, Yu-Dien Chen is a performance maker working across the forms of theatre. His works have diverse themes, including directing traditional Chinese opera, magic, and theatrical installation. He considers the theater space as the environment and pays attention to the "vulnerability" people display. His works emphasize sensual feelings, focusing on perceptions beyond speech and often revealing emotional tension within the intricate structure to shake reality with the co-existing body experience. His works have been participating in the Festival OFF Avignon, Taipei Arts Festival, Taipei Children's Arts Festival, Taipei Performing Arts Center, National Taichung Theater, and National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts.

Installation Artist｜Feng Cheng-Tsung （Taiwan）
Cheng Tsung FENG is an artist who deeply studies traditional craft culture. He learns the production of traditional handmade objects from old craftsmen from different regions, and spends a long time collecting and researching the ancient and gradually forgotten oriental culture, creating art works in various forms and sizes based on this. His works are not only beautiful, but also storytellers of traditional culture and handmade memories. He shares the gradually forgotten stories through his works, allowing these precious handmade memories to be passed down in modern times. He often incorporates modern technology into his works, constantly exploring new ways of creation, and always focuses on the quality and aesthetic of his works. He is an artist with rich value in handmade craftsmanship, full of development potential, imagination, and exploration spirit. He has been invited by Hermes, Cartier, Loewe, The Balvenie, Apple, Aesop, Nike, The Ritz-Carlton, HBO, Kvadrat and other international brands to create commissioned artworks & projects.

Lighting and Space Design｜Chen Guan-Lin（Taiwan）
CHEN is a light, set, and scenography designer and has co-created or engaged in collaborative creation with artists from different fields. He recently provided the design for LEE Ming-chen's Disintegration Sketch; HUNG Chien-han and HUNG Wei-yao's The Grandmother Paradox; WANG Yeu-kwn's Beings; C MUSICAL's One Fine Day and so forth.

Music Design｜Zhou Li-Ting（Taiwan）
She is a music workers. The types of music creation include drama, video, dance, orchestra, music theater...etc.
In the independent band Undecimber Fin., which ended in 13 months, served as keyboard and composer. Released the albums "Song Mi" (2018) and "The One That Looks Like You" (2021).
Recently participated in the production of 2022 Taipei Children's Art Festival "A Place Called the Middle", the opening season of Beiyi: "New Humanity Project: Jiang ◎ Meeting", and the second golden award "The Moon Mother Always Follows Us" as music design.