Sewn #2 (2014), The 15th OPEN international performance art festival, Tree Gallery 798, Beijing CN

In this performance, first I offered each sitter a choice of thread color from a selection of sewing threads, then I sew the chosen thread between our pieces of clothing. With this thread connecting us, we enter a silent relationship that ends when I give the sitter a pair of scissors to cut the thread and free themselves. I remain seated in padmāsana, alone, until the next person joins me, with the severed colourful threads - secured with small knots - hanging from my black t-shirt as remnants of previous encounters.

The engagement with the audience is thus twofold: on one level, it is an intimate one-to-one connection between the sitter and me; on another, it is a visual witnessing experience for the rest of the audience. The visions are layered accordingly: the sitter and I focus exclusively on one another, while the surrounding audience observes us both individually and as a unit. As a unit, the sitter and I are completely absorbed in our interaction, unaware of the surrounding space. I invited the audience to be part of an artistic experience where we are protagonists both as individual selves and as transcended selves. The sacred space where we sit becomes an imaginary canvas, and the colourful threads left on my black t-shirt after the sitter severs them become traces of our encounter.

Later, I realised this visual experience of inclusion and exclusion sparked a desire in some audience members to join me in the same space. I never turned anyone down but continued the performance until its natural end.

Photo Sophia Natasha Wei