Lit Uen Man Xapa
Xapa Lit was born in 1999 in Hong Kong and has a deep passion for ceramics, enhanced by her extensive training in performance arts. Her studies in drama have given her a strong foundation that influences her work with ceramics. Her pieces reflect the fleeting yet powerful nature of live performances, capturing those moments in a permanent form.
Her shift to ceramics came from a desire to merge the expressiveness of theatre with the tangible permanence of clay. Each of Xapa's creations tells its own story, marked by a distinct depth and detail in both form and texture.
Her travels across Asia and Europe for international exchanges opened her eyes to the diverse environmental and cultural landscapes, enriching her work and inspiring her to incorporate global themes into her practices. Through her art, Xapa seeks to connect personal expression with broader human experiences, continually honing her craft while staying true to her artistic vision.
Porcelain paper clay and steel wire rope
Size variable
In a split identity, being lost and without orientation to many lands yet belonging to none. Her doubts and insecurities are exposed in public.
The search for identity is an integral part of human life. Without identity and home, what are we?
She invites us to rethink the relationships and places we consider "home" in a world where we might all feel like outsiders struggling to find our place.
Armin Aschenbrenner Estelle Wan and Xapa Lit
Ink on paper, polargraph, wood, security camera, single-channel video on TV, performance
Size variable | 15 minutes
Yogyakarta 2022
"I nearly forgot what Mum said to me." "Most of the time I don't follow what she said." "Maybe she's right, but I have to make my own mistakes." Every time you recall a memory, it gets further from the truth: mistrust and self-doubt distort the traces left from every past encounter, colouring our approach to every new person we meet. How does the relationship between host and guest unfold? How much are we willing to give to or take from the people we encounter? How do we perceive each other, and how do these perceptions evolve over time? These questions lead to creating a performance based on actions related to the context of meetings. Somewhere between theatre and dance, a repertoire of movements is collected from interpersonal experiences, and stitched together into a choreography involving all three group members. This forms the core of the project, a new meeting happening twice each evening of the exhibition. Taking place in the cafe where so many new people were met during the last few months, a setting is created to enhance the performative elements of the piece. In conversation with the present, a further layer of memory of the past is added in the form of an installation. A security camera serves to record and examine each encounter, and, each evening, a monitor continuously plays back a highlight reel of the previous night. Additionally, after each representation, the footage is interpreted by an algorithm, extracting the movement of the performers and abstracting it into a drawing, which is mechanically drawn in parallel to the next edition of the performance. In this way, new meetings and memories of past encounters intermingle and influence each other over and over.
Linda Steck, Lee Shao-ting, Kushtrim Memeti and Xapa Lit
Duo-channels video on wall
Zurich 2022
Identity crisis exists in every subtle moment in our lives, and we want to express these by revealing our uncertainty, struggles, and reflections of other people regarding our identity, as well as historical events in the past. We reflect and explore the inner and outer factors that define and influence our identities.
Black mountain, DW S/W clay and rustic stoneware and ink-jet print
Size variable (A set of 6) | 12″ x 18″ (A set of 6)
Hong Kong 2021
" The whole time I have been here I have longed unconsciously and at times consciously for trust and love. This longing may change in intensity, but it is always there." – Anne Frank Therefore, I believe that everyone needs to love and be loved.