Founded a decade ago in 2012 to platform the work of marginalised artists, performance venue Ugly Duck, located in Bermondsey – South East London, has been at the forefront of working with performance artists who are not afraid of exploring lesser talked about themes. Their @Disturbance Festival, now in its 4th year specifically created to showcase LGBTQ+ artists and stories. Set to show I found a dead bird, an exploration of the marginalized queer experience of growing up in small town in southern China as part of Ugly Duck’s 10th year anniversary on the 10th,11th and 12th of November, Artist River Cao’s mesmerizing artistic practice spans the realms of installation, video, and performance, wrapped in a poetic meditation on the theme of mourning. Through his perspective, he reveals his encounters, musings, and memories, using the medium of landscape and deftly employing metaphors to explore sadness, subjectivity, and existence. Calm waters and untouched landscapes frequently appear in his previous works, leading the audience to gaze into his inner world. On this journey, one finds oneself confronted with a reimagined melancholy, contradiction and comfort are mutually entangled, and Cao’s evocative creation makes the audience pause in front of his work. Artist River Cao tells us more about exploring the shows themes further, what it means to be a part of Ugly Duck’s 10th year celebrations and what the audience can expect! Continue reading