Joseph Chen
元
BBK (Video Cypher Vol.7)
BBK, 2019
Part I: Single Channel Video/ 5’54”/ Color/ Sound
Part II: Single Channel Video/ 3’33”/ Color/ Sound
BBK is part of Video Cypher Vol.7 , a video series commissioned with the theme, Neo-fetishism. BBK is a video series with two parts inspired by Tsui Po-ko (Chinese:徐步高), a Hong Kong police constable implicated with a number of crimes, including constable murder and bank robbery.
BBK Part I is a video essay on fetishism in different aspects including technology, currency and democracy, remixing found footages from the internet and utilizing computer-generated voice.
BBK Part II is a motivational video with the mashup of Hong Kong TV commercials from 1990s to 2000s and the music video for Step Up (Bù Bù Gāo; Chinese: 步步高), an inspirational Mandarin song by Jing Gangshan, Gao Linsheng and Lin Yilun in 1997.
Being,
what should I do?
What is the meaning of my life?
Peace and ease,
only cause a pause.
Conflict and confrontation,
new life only emerges in war.
God was created by ignorance in ancient times,
Humans could not explain
thunder, volcano, typhoon,
and ascribed them to God.
Warlock, wizard, monk, pope
spoke on behalf of God.
the ruling class formed,
the ruling class cannot tolerate
people’s doubts towards God,
lowered its legitimacy,
what is the purpose of life?
The above text included in the beginning Chapter I of Part I is from the note sticking on the bedside of Tsui Po-ko, the note was later disclosed during the trial of the Coroner's Court. The text inspired me of the origin of religion for the first time when I was young and reading the news about Tsui’s trial. The concept of religion questions the insufficiency of faith in human subjectivity and relies on the worships on objects and believing the inherent value of the objects.
Being,
I should keep my faith.
The meaning of my life is creation.
Baby cries after being born
Smiles remind you of your true-self.
Dream is the liberation of love,
Dream is not giving a thumbs-up to your status.
Conscience is the liberation of love,
Conscience is not having a blast in the redemption party.
Freedom is the liberation of love,
Freedom is not being diagnosed with allodoxaphobia.
Democracy is the liberation of love,
Democracy is not speaking according to the will of capital.
Independence is the liberation of love,
Independence is not imagining the others as a community.
I can be eliminated by your times,
But can't be defeated by your times.
The purpose of life is a revolution against nihil.
The above text including in the end of Part II is my answer to the meaning and purpose of life questioned by Tsui and myself due to the loss of faith in politics. Politics is often enchanted as a fetish, packaged with grand concepts like freedom, democracy, independence, etc. These concepts seem to be omnipotent hypothetically, but incompetent when put into practices. The enlightenment of life is to disenchant these concepts and restore the creation of subjectivity.
About Video Cypher
Video Cypher [HK] was initiated by Anna Chim in 2017, and inspired by LA beat cypher crew Team Supreme. The intention of Video Cypher is about gathering friends to encourage and inspire each other in playing with videos and making progress together. The participating artists are required to interpret certain materials or themes with a goal to learn and explore video editing or animation techniques, hopefully produce some fun results. Participating artists include Anna Chim, Awe IW, Suze陳, Chiu Yan Wah, Alex Yiu, Crystal Bug, Dom Paul Chung, Heidi Huang, Joseph Chen 2015, Kelvin T, Mia Chu, Qqbbg, Wong Kei Ying, Ziki Cheung, etc.
https://www.instagram.com/videocypher/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ACrG72ZNbJOioPO8MPShw
Screening History:
Cypher Vol. 7: Neo-fetishism Screening | Video Cypher X PRSNT.CONTEMPORARY
