花瓶 (In Defense of Pretty Things)

(2024)

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花瓶 hua ping—in Mandarin, in proper usage, refers to a flower vase. However, in slang, 花瓶 describes a woman who is pretty but lacks substance.

But who said vases are just pretty things without substance? For that matter, where do our conceptions of ‘prettiness’ come from? Is it time to reexamine our assumptions and prejudices about pretty things?

This tangled, tongue-in-cheek performance first unpacks prettiness through the lens of Chinese dance, and then offers our own definition of prettiness as an attitude to life…!


Photo Credit: Zane Motalif

Production Credits

Creation

Chong Gua Khee
Chew Shaw En
in collaboration with Neo Ke Xin

Direction

Chong Gua Khee
Chew Shaw En

Performer