Lazy Moon Palace
Single-channel video, 23’. Co-created with Grandee Dorji. Produced during a residency at the Cité des Arts, Paris.
Lazy Moon Palace is an evolving video art project conceived during a residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, organized by VISARTE TICINO and supported by the BALLY FOUNDATION.
Developed in collaboration with Franco-Chinese artist and filmmaker Grandee Dorji, the project adopts an experimental approach to artistic documentation. It examines the intersection of multiple cultural identities, navigating between fiction and documentary while questioning notions of emotional authenticity and apocryphal truth. Born and raised in the mountainous region of Yunnan, China, Peilian Li grew up in close proximity to several ethnic minorities. This formative experience has had a lasting influence on her artistic practice, providing a sustained and situated perspective on the cultural plurality of the region.
Yunnan is home to 26 of China’s 56 officially recognized ethnic minorities, including the Bai, Dai, and Naxi, each with distinct languages, rituals, and aesthetic traditions. The region’s diverse geography has contributed to the preservation of these living cultures, manifested in festivals, dances, and highly developed forms of craftsmanship. Li’s visual practice draws extensively from these traditions, particularly from ceremonial garments and headdresses. Elements such as the crown of the Queen of Ticino are informed by traditional Miao headwear, translating vernacular forms into contemporary symbolic language.
