Mad For Real (UK): Monkey king at school

Monkey King (Sun Wukong) is a renowned classical Chinese novel written some four hundred years ago. “Monkey King” was based on a true story of a famous Chinese monk, Xuan Zang (602-664). After years of trials and tribulations, he travelled on foot to what is today India, the birthplace of Buddhism, to seek for Sutra, the Buddhist holy book. When he returned to China he started to translate the sutras into Chinese, making a great contribution to the development of Buddhism is China.

Dressed as the Monkey King characters, artists Cai Yuan and JJ Xi offer a contemporary interpretation of this great novel by combining the cult figure from popular Chinese culture with their exploration of performance as intervention.

Mad For Real will make a performance together with some students from Lyseo upper secondary school to lay/write 56 Chinese characters that will be formed like calligraphy from a well-known poem by chairman Mao.

A thunderstorm burst over the earth

So a devil rose from a heap of white bones

The deluded monk was not beyond the light

But the malignant demon must break havoc.

The Golden Monkey wrathfully swung his massive cudgel

And the Jade-like firmament was cleared of dust.

Today a miasmal once more rising

We hail Sun Wukong, the wonder-worker.

Monkey King at School is based on a true story of Monkey King mingled with Chinese fables, fairytales, legends and superstitions, alongside Taoist and Buddhist religions. The prowess and wisdom of the Monkey King are legendary and the protagonist embodies a rebellious spirit against the untouchable feudal rulers.

Mad For Real (UK)

Cai Yuan and JJ Xi are renowned for their controversial actions Two Artists Jump on Tracey Emin’s bed at Tate Britain’s Turner Prize exhibition (1999) and Two Artists Piss on Duchamp’s Urinal (2000) at Tate Modern. Born in People’s Republic of China, they have lived and worked in London since the 1980s. Their work explores contemporary art in the public sphere and includes performances such as running naked across Westminster Bridge with Tony Bear (2000) and Soy sauce and Ketchup fights at the Trafalgar Square (2002). Mad For Real make strong use of irony in their performance, drawing on seemingly banal subject matters to make witty and absurd commentaries through ironic action and posturing.