Thanksgiving in Tin Wan: A Performance by Olivia Chow

In the work of Hong Kong artist Olivia Chow, maximum preparation and minimal involvement allow her subtle take on relational aesthetics—the interactive art form in which the audience’s involvement is key—to unfold. In a planned performance piece Thanksgiving in Tin Wan on October 8, Chow invited some 30 guests to Mur Nomade gallery to share a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner complete with basted turkey and trimmings, alongside Chinese cuisine. Recreating this cultural spectacle with a local twist, the artist’s self-described “culturally-mashed” food acted as an installation, the meal as a performance and the shared nature as dialogue, revealing Chow’s interest across various aspects of art-making, as both an artist and curator herself. Established by Amandine Hervey in 2012, Mur Nomade was a natural fit for the performance; beyond the gallery space itself, an open area featured a foyer, kitchen, dining table and lounge room.