Ping-Hsiang Wang
wpZimmer resident in 2024
Ping-Hsiang Wang is a theatre director from Taiwan. His work has focused on how human behavior is being disciplined and modified through the evolution of materiality, the internet, systems, machinery, the environment, and commerce.
Wang’s signature aesthetic is honed on the transference of normal daily landscapes into fantastic digital realities. He views theater as a perceptual vehicle for enabling new means of communication, and combines multiple performative elements using text, spoken language, sound, movement, live streaming video, objects, and scenography. His work posits narrative as a full sensory experience.
In recent years, he has worked with diverse international theatre companies, including Agrupación Señor Serrano, Rimini Protokoll, and cmd+c company. Many festivals throughout Europe and Asia have presented his works, such as Romaeuropa in Italy, Grec Festival de Barcelona and TNT Festival in Spain, Festival de la Cité in Switzerland, and ¡Viva! Spanish & Latin American Festival in the UK.
projects
Retina Maneuver
The multimedia solo lecture performance, Retina Maneuver, intricately explores the evolving perspectives of Taiwanese millennials on conscription and military violence over the past decade. Against the backdrop of the People’s Republic of China’s territorial claim over the Taiwanese island, potentially leading to armed conflict, this exploration is enriched by a queer lens, shedding light on the nuanced experiences and anxieties of LGBTQ+ individuals within the broader geopolitical landscape.
On stage, the artist Ping-Hsiang Wang delves into his digital archive to unravel his inexplicable obsession with the iconic pop song Girl On Fire. As he probes deeper, the song serves as a portal to memories of his time in the Taiwanese army a decade ago. Faced with the looming threat of war, he ponders whether these fragile memories will be annihilated by the fire of war?