YL Hsueh is an artist currently based in Berlin and southern Taiwan. The connection between nature and culture is the source of Hsueh’s inspiration and exploration to construct her narratives. In her current works, Hsueh focuses on an examination of psychogeography, sensory perception and research about human and non-human based discourses.

She builds up her interests on in-depth field surveys with related scholars and collaborates with people from different fields. Her cinematic works combine fiction and documentary storytelling and her artistic approach takes on a mix of collaborative, performative and participatory methods as well as interdisciplinary, time-space based projects.

My current project The Parliament of the Iā-Pô and their new sacrificial ceremony is inspired by bat echolocation, looking at how it shapes, measures and senses the world in an invisible but profound way. During the Residency at the Stiftung Künstlerdorf, I constructed a script in a mix of fantasy, fairy tale and folklore. The script is based on the cultural and ecological research and field surveys and it turned into an acoustic performance within a sound installation.

The performance is in collaboration with two German artists: Alba Frenzel, who acts as an oral narrator, and Tobias Textor performs live instrumental music. Large pottery amphoras and wine vessels had been shown on the altar installed for this piece, though the installation is still work in progress. These pottery wine utensils are inspired by and integrate research about ancient cultures, including Greece in the Roman era and the Qing Dynasty, as well as today’s Georgia Qvevri, Amis pottery and the related ceremonies in Taiwan.

Through the oral narration in this acoustic performance, I try to reflect on the context and the significance of oral traditions and folktales, as well as their aesthetic values with non-scientific, speculative and imaginative perspectives.