Keys in the Dark
a trio by Ake, Xiang, Zhuo Mengting
The film captures an improvised encounter in Beijing between three women artists working across dance, poetry and sound. Filmed in the summer of 2025 in an underground art space that no longer exists, the session had no script and no plan for documentation. A filmmaker from Beijing’s grassroots scene happened to be present and recorded the 25-minute exchange in a single take.
The hutong basement shaped the piece: a low ceiling, dense heat, bodies packed close, and the shared worry of making too much noise. What remains is not a performance designed for an audience, but a trace of attention, three bodies listening and responding in the same air. A month later, the organisers were evicted. This footage is now one of the few records of that short-lived space.
‘What is the purpose of cleaning? … I might say the purpose, generally, is to remove. In contrast to the cleaner, it didn’t seem to matter whether or not I could see the removed. And where does it go? That, as it happens, is the wrong question; all that matters is that it is no longer in our presence. … In the end, however, the sound of removal has no sound at all. We dare not imagine, let alone hear, a negative sound. ‘ (Sine Revue, May 2025)
Artists / Performers
阿科 Ake
響 Xiang
卓夢婷 Zhuo Mengting
Filmmaker
王赫 Mastem
Original Event
《发声现场系列 四》 Sound Out Series #4, 2025 Beijing
Curated by 阿科 Ake
a trio by Ake, Xiang, Zhuo Mengting
The film captures an improvised encounter in Beijing between three women artists working across dance, poetry and sound. Filmed in the summer of 2025 in an underground art space that no longer exists, the session had no script and no plan for documentation. A filmmaker from Beijing’s grassroots scene happened to be present and recorded the 25-minute exchange in a single take.
The hutong basement shaped the piece: a low ceiling, dense heat, bodies packed close, and the shared worry of making too much noise. What remains is not a performance designed for an audience, but a trace of attention, three bodies listening and responding in the same air. A month later, the organisers were evicted. This footage is now one of the few records of that short-lived space.
‘What is the purpose of cleaning? … I might say the purpose, generally, is to remove. In contrast to the cleaner, it didn’t seem to matter whether or not I could see the removed. And where does it go? That, as it happens, is the wrong question; all that matters is that it is no longer in our presence. … In the end, however, the sound of removal has no sound at all. We dare not imagine, let alone hear, a negative sound. ‘ (Sine Revue, May 2025)
Artists / Performers
阿科 Ake
響 Xiang
卓夢婷 Zhuo Mengting
Filmmaker
王赫 Mastem
Original Event
《发声现场系列 四》 Sound Out Series #4, 2025 Beijing
Curated by 阿科 Ake
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