All Rise

Artist Angela Su is representing Hong Kong at the Venice Biennale, which opens this month after a pandemic‑induced one‑year delay. She speaks to Tatler about her fascination with anime, levitation and disco balls

- Aaina Bhargava

If it wasn’t for her distinctive thick-rimmed black glasses, Angela Su would be unrecognisable: when she appears on video chat, gone was her characteristic goth look; her usual jet black, pin-straight, blunt-cut bob replaced by a blonde pixie cut. This new, still-edgy transformation is all in service of her latest film, The Magnificent Levitation Act of Lauren O (2022), set to debut at the Venice Biennale this month.

In it, Su assumes the role of fictional character Lauren O; she posits that concocting a diverse range of characters could be a way of coping with a politically ruptured world. “Having all these alter egos is like having multiple personalities,” she says. “Each one [could help] us survive a different extreme situation—it’s a survival mechanism.”

She sees her place at Venice as a chance to address a world changed by the pandemic while staying true to her practice. The Hong Kong pavilion will feature Arise, an installation comprising multiple parts, including Su’s film. The pavilion is co-presented by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and the M+ museum (for whom this is the first international project after its official opening in November 2021). Both selected Su to represent the city—a career-defining moment she finds surreal. “I’m nervous and excited,” she shares. “I feel like it’s this huge responsibility after Venice was postponed for a year … [and] when so much has changed.”