Homecoming Project (2020-2021)

Homecoming

Derived from her Master’s research on female representation in Southeast and East Asian film and television, Lizzie’s Homecoming project is a series of performative videos which depicted the fictional narrative of the cast and crew of an imagined television series. This project began with an extensive visual analysis of female characters from 66 pieces of media from 11 different countries and regions, and resulted in archetypes coded from the research.

Writing a script and making video sketches to explore the original characters, Lizzie created two works: Homecoming/The Lee Family - The Picnic (pilot) (2020) and Forced Idleness (2021). Homecoming is an imagined television show, which began with the idea of re-imagining the Phua Chu Kang Pte. Ltd. cast as totally female, and what that would look like. A local situational comedy, Phua Chu Kang Pte. Ltd. characters Ah Ma, Margaret, and Rosie, were all the main characters of the original and by keeping their names but changing their familial relationship from ‘mother and daughter-in-laws’, to simply ‘mother and daughters’, she re-presents a local classic with a personal twist.

By filtering it through her own experiences, and modelling the characters after the constructed archetypes, the final works presented for her graduation showcase were Homecoming - The Conversations (2021), and Homecoming - The Table Read (2021). These works capture her interest and research into the roles that women play both in front of and behind the camera.

“Homecoming/The Lee Family - The Picnic (pilot)” (2020), 1080p HD video 16:9 duration: 14min 48s

The Imagined television show Homecoming re-imagines Phua Chu Kang Pte. Ltd. cast, a beloved local situational comedy, as totally female. The show, which the artist felt anchored her while he grew up overseas, features characters like Ah Ma, Margaret, and Rosie, who were all the main characters of the original show. By keeping their names but changing their familial relationship from ‘mother and daughter-in-laws’, to simply ‘mother and daughters’, Lizzie re-presents a local classic with a personal twist. Filtering the premise of the sit-com through her own lived experiences, it becomes a more auto-biographical piece which allows the artist to model belonging and question identity in a performance for the camera.

Forced Idleness (2021), Single-channel digital video, 16:9 format, 5m 40s

As an imagined public safety announcement by the ‘actresses’ in the imagined Homecoming television series, was filmed as an exercise in embodying the female characters of the show. To follow up on the initial video work, this is a short exercise in playing the characters within their ‘homes’, playing with the reality of making artwork during the pandemic and adding a meta quality to the series.   

Homecoming - The Conversations (2021), Single-channel 4K digital video, 16:9 format, 32m 18s, Lizzie Wee, 2021. Displayed on a 21.5in iMac with a script, a stack of books, and 9 A4 sized character sheets. ON View at Beautiful, Nice, Interesting (2021)

In a two-part series of video works these ‘conversations’ are staged between the ‘director’, ‘writer’, and the ‘actresses’ of the imagined television show Homecoming. Creating an interface which looks like multiple zoom calls between the cast and crew, the artist has created a meta look at the script written and giving a means of gaining insight behind the making of the work. Displayed with the pages of the script, and character sheets of the different roles she takes on.

Homecoming - The Table Read (2021), Single-channel 4K digital video, 16:9 format, 26m 54s, Lizzie Wee, 2021. Displayed on a large-scale projector, accompanied with a 13 page series synopsis on 13 A4 pages. ON View at Beautiful, Nice, Interesting (2021)

In a two-part series of video works this ‘table read’ is staged between the ‘director’, ‘writer’, and the ‘actresses’ of the imagined television show Homecoming. Creating an interface which looks like a zoom call between the cast and crew, the artist has created a meta look at the script written and giving a means of gaining insight behind the making of the work. Displayed with the title pages of the imagined episodes of the first season of the show, the video is projected larger than life and features the homecoming of the prodigal daughter.

Watch all the full video works above!