Identifies as: Australian Hong Kong-Chinese
Language/Language group: English and Cantonese
Website: www.chunyinrainbowchan.com
Instagram handle: @chunyinrainbowchan
哭嫁 or “Bridal laments” refer to a female custom that was performed by the 圍頭 (Weitou) people, the first settlers of Hong Kong. As marriages were arranged, becoming a bride signified a kind of death for a woman. Not only would her ties to her natal home be severed, but she would remain an outsider to the groom’s family.
To mourn this profound sense of loss, Weitou women would perform a bridal lament cycle before their wedding day, a ritual which involved singing and weeping in front of family and friends over the course of three days. Since this tradition ended in the 1960s, the last group of women to embody this knowledge are in their 80s or 90s today.
I have Weitou ancestry through my mother who never learnt the laments. To learn more about this ritual, I’ve been working with elderly Weitou women in the Caritas Lung Yeuk Tau Community Development Project over the last few years. As I have not been able to travel back to Hong Kong this year, I’ve had to continue my learning via digital platforms and virtual communications.
For 52 ACTIONS, I reimagine a bridal lament through a contemporary lens. I have learnt this melody by repeatedly listening to a CD recording performed by Weitou elder, 文鳳琼婆婆, Man Fung Kun. I realise now that this was, in fact, how I first started making music. My favourite pastime as a kid was working out how to play Top40 pop songs on the piano completely by ear. Titled “魚文,鳥文Fish Song, Bird Song” this action is a personal exploration of distance, memory, and matrilineal knowledge which is on the brink of disappearance.
Chun Yin Rainbow Chan is an interdisciplinary artist working across music, image, video and sculpture with an interest in the intimate connections between representation, technology and myths in the globalised world. Born in Hong Kong and raised in Sydney, Australia, Chan lives and works on Gadigal land, Sydney. Coming from a background in pop music performance, her art practice often engages with the aesthetics of mass media through music videos, movie posters, fashion shoots and other mediums. But, she also troubles aspects of consumer culture through mistranslations, historical reimaginings and technological interventions in her works, which are inspired by bootlegs and knock-off culture.
哭 – huk1 / kū
To weep; to cry, to wail.
“魚文,鳥文” (Fish Song, Bird Song) is performed by 文鳳琼婆婆, Man Fung Kun, aged 84. Audio recording and photographs courtesy of Caritas Lung Yeuk Tau Community Development Project, funded by the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust. @bridal_laments
Directed by Chan Kwok Ming and Ng Lok Chi, Jeanne
“Yesterday Once More” is produced by Caritas Lung Yeuk Tau Community Development Project, funded by the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust.
Catfish, flat-headed, in an unfamiliar place.⠀
Eel, without scales, like you I am bare.⠀
While Crucian Carp swam breezily in clear waters,⠀
Pond Loach slithers in dark clouds now.⠀
⠀
塘虱扁頭歸異國。⠀
白鱔無鱗單獨身。⠀
鰂魚風吹游清水。⠀
泥鰍攬濁揞烏雲。⠀
⠀
Translation by Rainbow Chan, adapted from “A Glimpse through Ming-Wa-Kou: The Bridal Laments of the Last Walled-Village Brides.”⠀
Cherished is Rice Bird who tells fortunes,
Glorious is Grouse, your feathers so splendid.
Lonely is Francolin who sighs bitterly,
Sorrowful is Huamei, chirping in the dead of the night.
禾榖擇文能卜卦。
針雞青彩享榮華。
鷓鴣怨恨嗟嘆影。
人愁半夜畫眉清。
I do not possess the wisdom of Confucius,
A broken nest, I am swept away.
Oh! This new world, I am yet to know,
A princess married off to barbarians, I am lost.
我難學孔明施妙計
破巢只能實難飄
況且新過我全未曉
和蕃出寨亂飄搖
“魚文,鳥文 Fish Song, Bird Song” paints a picture of sadness as the bride mourns the death of her former self. Sung in the Weitou dialect, this lament is layered with allusions and wordplay. The bride’s feelings are vividly symbolised by the characteristics of native fish and birds. Joyous memories of her natal home are contrasted with her new life in the groom’s home, which is likened to turbid waters. My favourite line is when the bride compares herself to Eel, who is all alone and stripped of its “scales” (which is a homophone of “neighbours” in the Weitou dialect.) In a society where women had little to no rights, bridal laments afforded a rare opportunity for village women to express their grievances publicly.
Graphics, video and music by Rainbow Chan. 3D model by Craig Stubbs-Race
WARNING: This video contents strobing lights
嫁 – gaa3 / jià
(Of a woman) to be married off; to transfer; to shift.
07 Jun - 13 Jun 2021
Unbound Collective
31 May - 06 Jun 2021
OLC Art Collective
24 May - 30 May 2021
Naomi Hobson
17 May - 23 May 2021
Adrft Lab
10 May - 16 May 2021
Pat Brassington
03 May - 09 May 2021
Eddie Abd
26 Apr - 02 May 2021
Loren Kronemyer
19 Apr - 25 Apr 2021
Guo Jian
12 Apr - 18 Apr 2021
Kenny Pittock
05 Apr - 11 Apr 2021
Jannawi Dance Clan
29 Mar - 04 Apr 2021
Gillian Kayrooz
22 Mar - 28 Mar 2021
Nathan Beard
15 Mar - 21 Mar 2021
Pilar Mata Dupont
08 Mar - 14 Mar 2021
Michael Cook
01 Mar - 07 Mar 2021
Seini F Taumoepeau
22 Feb - 28 Feb 2021
Dani Marti
15 Feb - 21 Feb 2021
Lill Colgan & Sab D'Souza
08 Feb - 14 Feb 2021
Chris Yee
01 Feb - 07 Feb 2021
Rochelle Haley
25 Jan - 31 Jan 2021
Karrabing Film Collective
18 Jan - 24 Jan 2021
Nici Cumpston
11 Jan - 17 Jan 2021
Johnathon World Peace Bush
07 Dec - 13 Dec 2020
Aphids
30 Nov - 06 Dec 2020
Raquel Ormella
23 Nov - 29 Nov 2020
Léuli Eshrāghi
16 Nov - 22 Nov 2020
Rolande Souliere
09 Nov - 15 Nov 2020
TV Moore
02 Nov - 08 Nov 2020
Gutiŋarra Yunupiŋu
26 Oct - 01 Nov 2020
Ivey Wawn
19 Oct - 25 Oct 2020
Naomi Blacklock
12 Oct - 18 Oct 2020
Sancintya Mohini Simpson
05 Oct - 11 Oct 2020
Yhonnie Scarce
28 Sep - 04 Oct 2020
Ruha Fifita
21 Sep - 27 Sep 2020
Kaylene Whiskey
14 Sep - 20 Sep 2020
Adam Linder
07 Sep - 13 Sep 2020
Archie Barry
31 Aug - 06 Sep 2020
Min Wong
24 Aug - 30 Aug 2020
Hayley Millar-Baker
17 Aug - 23 Aug 2020
Erin Coates
10 Aug - 16 Aug 2020
Diego Bonetto
03 Aug - 09 Aug 2020
Tyza Hart
27 Jul - 02 Aug 2020
Larissa Hjorth
20 Jul - 26 Jul 2020
Louise Zhang
13 Jul - 19 Jul 2020
Henri Papin (Meijers & Walsh)
06 Jul - 12 Jul 2020
Stelarc
29 Jun - 05 Jul 2020
Rainbow Chan
22 Jun - 28 Jun 2020
Jason Phu
15 Jun - 21 Jun 2020
Abdul Abdullah
08 Jun - 14 Jun 2020
Patricia Piccinini
01 Jun - 07 Jun 2020
Brook Andrew
25 May - 31 May 2020
Radha
18 May - 24 May 2020
James Tylor