holeo

Filmmaker: Chang Liu (Leo)  

Performer: Chang Liu (Leo) 

Music: Sad French Accordion by Dana Boulé 

Shooting Location: Humlegården, Stockholm, Sweden

Produced in 2022  

Concept: 

holeo was born in the pandemic in Sweden, that time of global turbulence and personal despair. As an artist living in the small town of Härnösand but from in Wuhan, China, I could not return to my country for the summer vacation. The isolation of the pandemic years was further complicated by the global spread of anti-Asian racism and Sinophobia in Sweden that Chinese community experienced, which only served to heighten my sense of alienation and loneliness.  

While in Stockholm, I found an empty park called Humlegården. In its stillness and isolation, I felt the urge to create Holeo. This performance is an investigation into the metaphorical gaps within my own identity as a Leo, an artist, and a person, reflecting on experiences of sexual, physical, social, and spiritual isolation, while asking the question: How can we fill these voids in times of detachment and discrimination?  I intentionally kept a light and informal tone throughout this work, with a subtle numbness that covers up a deeper sorrow. Such subtlety allows the viewer to grasp the underlying burden that lies beneath the surface, creating a delicate balance between vulnerability and strength.