Ziyue Shang 商子岳

I’m an ethnographer and performance artist currently pursuing a Master in Design Studies in Publics at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Before that, I graduated from University College London (UCL) with first-class honours in Global Humanitarian Studies.

My research interests lie at the intersection of multimodal anthropology, body/embodiment, queer/gender politics, and the socialist state. My current work explores the formation of queer subjectivities in relation to socialist moral ideology, asking how state-produced moral values are embodied, negotiated, and unsettled in everyday life. I am exploring ways of responding to this question through ethnographic research on performance art (行为艺术 xingwei yishu) and live art (现场艺术 xianchang yishu) communities, while also attending to broader forms of queer public culture, including ballroom, dance, digital shorts, and other vernacular media and bodily practices.

Email
CV
Instagram

Performance Art 行为&现场
  1. Everything is FINE!
  2. Solidarity is the POWER 团结就是力量
  3. Lipstick
  4. Hand in Hand, At Play
  5. Underground Park Mushroom Hop
  6. Jumping the Long Rope
  7. Same but Difference (Spring Equinox)
  8. Towards Dirt
  9. Go Round and Round
  10. Radio Calisthenics

Voice from the Community 社区&声音
  1. ‘Praising‘ Colonialism
  2. Qingdao Zhongshan Road
  3. Hague Mothers
  4. Lines That Almost Meet
  5. Vagina Monologue Series (in-progress)

Creative Writing 写作
  1. Autoethnography (in-progress)

Public Engagement & Academic Conference 展览&会议&其他
  1. Rebuilding: Sites/Sights of East Asia: 31th Columbia GradCon
  2. EXPERIMENT: Rethinking Representation, Methods, & Knowledge American Ethnological Society (AES) Spring Conference
  3. DIRT: NSSR Anthropology Graduate Student Conference
  4. IMPACT: Durham Anthropology Graduate Student Conference

‘Praising’ Colonialism
Cover of the ZIne
2024



“Praising” Colonialism 
Photography Archive / Zine / Participatory Game Design

The traces of colonial history ni urban spaces often remain obscured, embedded ni the names, symbols, and functions of landmarks and infrastructures. These remnants of colonialism not only reflect a contested past but also influence contemporary urban identity and power dynamics. By engaging with decolonial theories and critical urbanism, this project seeks to explore how participatory frameworks can address colonial legacies while fostering inclusive conversations about urban transformation.

This tabletop game focuses on Qingdao, a city with a complex colonial history and modern aspirations. Players take on roles such as government officials, citizens, scholars, and media ot collaboratively examine the colonial and contemporary significance of historical signage, urban landmarks, and key city activities. Through negotiation and decision-making, participants propose decolonization actions, reflecting on their impact across social, cultural, and economic dimensions. The game serves as both a participatory tool for urban dialogue and a creative platform to envision equitable and inclusive futures, encouraging players to critically engage with Qingdao's unique urban narrative.




©2037 Copyrights Etc.