“Trio A Translation Project” by Cherrie Yu
The Trio A Translation Project is an essay film/performance hybrid that I worked on in 2020 in collaboration with a series of individuals with different professions and backgrounds. The individuals each had a loved person transcribe the original dance into a written score, which we worked with to devise new movements. During the rehearsal process, each performer produced writings which became the voiceover to the movements. Featured in the film/performance so far are the first four performers – Enid Smith, a former dancer with the Merce Cunningham company, Ignacio Morales, a custodian at the Inland Steel building in downtown Chicago. The third performer is Tony Rodriguez, a former Chicago fireman, and the last participant is my mother. Because of the nature of the work, it exists as a film/performance documentation form now.
Cherrie Yu is a 25 year old artist born in Xi’an, China. She currently lives and works from Chicago, IL. She holds a bachelor degree in English Literature at the College of William and Mary, and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has shown work at Chicago Cultural Center, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Links Hall and Mana Contemporary Chicago. She has been an artist in residence at ACRE, Contemporary Calgary Museum, and a visiting artist at Emory University. Her films have been screened at Satellite Art Show, Helena Anrather Gallery, Heaven Gallery and Virginia Commonwealth University. She is the awardee of the 2020 Kala Art Institute Media Award Fellowship, and will be a artist in residence at Yaddo Foundation in 2021.