Nu Shu GPS: 25°21’00.5N, 111°27’17.7E—An interdisciplinary cooperation between dance, calligraphy, and the body in multimedia performance

Abstract

Nu Shu GPS: 25 °21’00.5N, 111°27’17.7E – an interdisciplinary cooperation between dance, calligraphy, and the body in multimedia performance, began with a diary exchange between the artist and a friend, who shared their thoughts by writing in the same journal. During this ‘diary swapping’ period, they developed a semiotic system that only the two of them could understand. Later, the artist came across Nu Shu, the only written language in the world that exclusively women learned to write and read. The artist attempts to explore all the possible metaphors and meanings implied by Nu Shu. The performance Nu Shu GPS: 25 °21’00.5N, 111°27’17 attempts to bring this secret method of communication back to life among modern Chinese women. This interdisciplinary performance work employs a practical approach to art through a creative collaboration among experts from different fields: choreographers, dancers, lighting designers, programmers, etc. It attempts to apply the three stages of the art creation process (Praxis, Symbol, Presence) as the three different faces for a theory regarding this work.