MUR 010 | LU PAN || INSULAR GEOPOETICS
During her short residency, Lu Pan’s research revolved around the concept of “islandness,” which encompasses the dynamic nature of being an island, including its geographical, cultural, and metaphysical aspects. Specifically, she shared her current study of Hainan Island and how islandness influences interdisciplinary research on islands.
In her work, Pan explores the intersection of visual representation and knowledge production in the context of (post)colonialism and (post)nationalism in the region. Her research delves into various aspects of travel to the island, associated translation patterns, and the gaze projections towards the island. Instead of considering these phenomena merely as reflections of colonial and national meta- geographies, Pan regards them as significant historical realities of the island.
During the community presentation, she introduced a cocoa game that we could play as a means to explore different directions in her research. As part of “The Asia Cocoa Project” curated by Caroline Ha Thuc, Pan Lu collaborated with artist Bo Wang and designed an interactive board game that encourages participants to take on the roles of diverse historical figures. These characters include an overseas Chinese merchant, a female revolutionary soldier, a French missionary, a German anthropologist, a Japanese informer, a Chinese military officer, and a native Li weaver.
Dr. Pan Lu, a filmmaker and scholar residing in Hong Kong, earned her PhD from the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong. Subsequently, in 2015, she became a part of the Department of Chinese Culture at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Her research focuses on cultural and cross-cultural analysis of diverse textual forms. Beyond her academic pursuits, Pan is engaged as a curator and video artist. Collaborating with Bo Wang, she co-directed essay films such as Traces of an Invisible City (2016), Miasma, Plants and Export Paintings (2017), and Many Undulating Things (2019).