Hui Magai 慧芝
Hui Magai 慧芝 is a South German artist based in Zurich, Switzerland, with origins from China. Specializing in performance art and poetry, Hui blends movement, spoken word, and the tactile experience of hair to explore identity, transformation, and connection. Incorporating German, English, Spanish and Cantonese in her work, she creates an immersive experience where each language, with its distinct nuances, rhythms, and cultural layers, serves as a metaphor for diversity and the complexity of human experience. Looking ahead, Hui is shifting focus to future projects that will integrate sound and video, combining these elements with performance to offer dynamic narratives that encourage the audience to reflect on their feelings, foster empathy, and engage in a process of education and self-awareness.
As an emerging artist, I engage with movement, textures, and gesture to explore identity, transformation, and connection. My practice blends elements of performance art with the tactile experience of hair and the expressive potential of spoken word poetry, using movement as a way to embody and communicate these ideas. I write poetry on paper and speak it aloud to convey personal and collective narratives, transforming the act of writing and moving into a dynamic conversation about healing and self-exploration. Through this interdisciplinary approach, I aim to create space for reflection, growth, and understanding, while challenging conventional boundaries of artistic expression.
My artistic process is deeply influenced by the diverse cities I’ve lived in, including Sevilla, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Berlin. Each city has left a unique mark on my work, shaping my perspectives on culture, movement, and identity.
Growing up with Hip Hop and later discovering electronic music, both genres have deeply influenced my creative development. Connecting with DJs, dancers, singers, and martial artists enriched this process. Through my open character, these encounters became a source of inspiration, with these individuals acting as mentors, offering new perspectives and insights.
Nature, with its shifting skies, vast horizons, and intricate forms, serves as a constant reminder of artistry’s ever-changing essence, while the diversity of people from various cultures and ethnicities fuels my desire to represent the complexity of human experience.
The timing – the moments when everything aligns – has been crucial in the development of my work, guiding me to create in response to the flow of life, movement, and the world around me. Through these influences, I continue to shape my artistic practice, finding new ways to express the beauty and complexity of the global experience.
In my evolving artistic journey, I am shifting my focus towards creating my own sound, which I now integrate into video installations and performances. By combining music, video, and performance, I aim to create immersive environments that weave together spoken word, text, and visuals. This multidisciplinary approach allows me to explore new dimensions of storytelling, where sound and image interact to amplify the emotional depth and narrative richness of my work. Through this fusion, I seek to engage audiences in a dialogue that transcends traditional boundaries, inviting them into a space where sound, movement, and language converge.