Choy Ka Fai
The year is 2096. On the island of Formosa, where a whole generation forgot how to communicate with the deities, an android shaman with a noble mission is born. Her purpose lies in the rediscovery and deciphering of old wisdom to reestablish the lost connection and to summon the presence of the Third Prince. While roaming the island, her quest for an eons-old mantra that is locked in a time capsule becomes a journey on which she can again reconnect with the spiritual realm. This cinematic game is inspired by the goddess Nezha, in Taiwan lovingly referred to as the androgynous Third Prince whose various incarnations manifest in different contexts within popular entertainment and religious heritage. The Third Prince invites you to imagine the future of world building across the chasm of communism and democracy, shining a light on the everyday political drama, the tensions and the humour in Chinese-Taiwanese relations in the process.The showing as a dramatised game play as part of TEMPS D’IMAGES introduces the game to an audience present on-site – akin to the live streaming format that present new games to online communities. This format enables the audience to experience The Third Prince with additional commentary on its content and design.During the festival days, the game will also be playable as part of the TEMPS D’IMAGES exhibition.
Duration: 20 min.
Choy Ka Fai is a Berlin-based artist from Singapore. His multidisciplinary art practice acts at the intersection of dance, media art, and performance. Through research expeditions, pseudoscientific experimentation, and documentary performances, Choy Ka Fai appropriates technology and narratives enabling him to imagine new futures for the human body.Choy Ka Fai’s projects have been presented globally, for example at Tanz im August (Berlin), ImPulsTanz (Vienna), and Kyoto Experiment (Japan). He was a resident Factory Artist at tanzhaus nrw from 2017 to 2019 and at artist house Bethanien in Berlin from 2014 to 2015. Choy Ka Fai graduated in Design Interaction from the Royal College of Art in London/ UK.
Concept, story & direction: Choy Ka Fai; game & visual designer: Brandon Tay; game programming: vladstorm; visual asset manager: Huang Wei-Hsuan; sound design: Betty Apple; mediaturgy: Mi You; motion capture performance: Yurika S. Yamamoto; dramatized gameplay performer (Düsseldorf) (tba); cultural heritage consultation: Sheng Xian Tai Zi Gong, Puli Township, Taiwan; project management: Tammo Walter.
Production: Choy Ka Fai & HAU Hebbel am Ufer; funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation. The research and development was supported by tanzhaus nrw, Taipei Arts Festival & the Singapore Art Museum.
