JiuYu is a graduate of the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago. She was born in Beijing, China to a Buddhist family, and the early spiritual teachings she received became influential to her life path. JiuYu spent her childhood and teenage years traveling and living around the globe, where she found her passion for nature and community building. She held space for spiritual transformations, taught the healing power of arts, and reconnected people back to their bodies and the natural elements through meditation. Upholding a continuous exploration of holistic lifestyle, she is a contemplative artist practicing healing through creativity. Jiuyu engages the five senses to stimulate emotional and spiritual responses, helping individuals to gently accept and settle into their divine humanity. Her current mediums include writing, painting, sound, and garment.
A Breathing Body_1, 2022, video, garment and set by Jiuyu Xiao, performed by Jiuyu Xiao
A Breathing Body_2, 2022, video, garment and set by Jiuyu Xiao, performed by Jiuyu Xiao
A Breathing Body_3, 2022, video, garment and set by Jiuyu Xiao, performed by Jiuyu Xiao
A Breathing Body_4, 2022, video, garment and set by Jiuyu Xiao, performed by Jiuyu Xiao
In this performance piece, Jiuyu experiments with the boundaries of a garment on the moving body, while placing focus on the abdomen and upper body area – the origin of a body’s capacity to breathe. The performance follows the sound of breathing and frequency music, signifying elements of meditation practices. Starting out from a seated pose, the body slowly expands and contracts according to the rhythm of ocean breath and fire breath (the breathing patterns belong to yoga practices, each aiming at relaxing and energizing the body). The garment is pushed from the inside in varying directions, while both hands or a part of the arm remain in contact, acting as the active agents of performing the changing space between the body and the cloth. The performance branches from Jiuyu’s multidisciplinary exploration of the Inner Space – the awareness within that transcends chaotic thoughts and reaches a healing moment of stillness – through mediums of painting, sound, natural dye, movements, and garments.