Nicole Pun is a visual artist based in Hong Kong. She uses photography, video, performance to explore queer identity, desire and female representation. Her artistic practice involves collaborations and interviews with strangers. She received her MFA from California Institute of the Arts in 2014. She has a BSSc from the Chinese of University of Hong Kong, with a background in Journalism and Communication. Her work has been exhibited in Circus Gallery in Los Angeles; Avenue 50 Studio in Los Angeles; SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco; McGroarty Arts Center in Tujunga; “In & Out” Nicole Pun Solo Exhibition at Lumenvisum in Hong Kong. She is the recipient of a number of grants and awards, including Yale-China Arts Fellowship, Emerging Artists Scheme of Hong Kong Arts Development Council, WMA Masters Special Mention Award and First Prize of Chiquita Canyon landfill art competition.
To be Brandon (Scene 2), 2019, 08′ 00″
During my residency in Brighton, the unofficial “gay capital” of the UK, a lot of questions were on my mind – what does it mean to talk about hate crime here? How does oneself play an unfamiliar role? To explore these questions, I put up an open audition and invited the gender-queer community to play the important and traumatised character of Brandon in “Boyz Don’t Cry”.
The movie is based on the story of Brandon Teena, who adopts a male identity and attempts to find his true self and love in Nebraska. Unfortunately, he becomes the victim of a hate crime. This film was premiered in 1999. It is one of the classic queer movies that initiated the discussion of the trans identity.