In Resistance of Voice, Xilichen Hua situates ‘voicing’ within a structured field. The stage, the audience, the gaze, and the omnipresent silence collectively constitute an order that is perceptible yet inescapable. The work unfolds around a ‘body’ under public scrutiny, yet this body is unstable. It appears in digital form, hovering between the visible and the intangible, simultaneously being viewed and deconstructed. It is precisely within this uncertainty that the body loses its traditional sense of wholeness, transforming instead into an interface subject to constant measurement. The audience’s silence is not neutral, but rather a more potent form of presence, it constitutes the pressure of the gaze, rendering the act of ‘speaking out’ itself an act requiring resistance.


Still Image of “Resistance of Voice”, 2024. Courtesy of the artist.

Hua positions sound as the central medium. Whispered narration, fragmented sentences, breath and noise layer upon one another within the space, forming an ever-expanding sonic structure. Within these sounds, gentleness is no longer innate but a choice; anger is no longer an outburst but a clear, organised expression; and weariness becomes the norm through repetition. This approach shifts sound from ‘content’ to ‘state of being’’, revealing how emotions are shaped by social norms.


Still Image of “Resistance of Voice”, 2024. Courtesy of the artist.

The work interprets ‘resistance’ as an ongoing process. Within the constantly layering soundscape, sound does no fully breach the constraints of space, but instead forms a tug-of-war with it: both enveloped by it and vibrating at its boundaries. The fragmentation of the body in the footage further reinforces this. The body is dissected and extended, forming, together with sound, a fluid system of perception. Here, ‘being seen’ no longer equates to being understood; it signifies exposure whilst simultaneously generating new possibilities. Visibility transforms from a unidirectional power relationship into a field brimming with tension: the act of viewing is both oppressive and subject to reciprocal manipulation.


Still Image of “Resistance of Voice”, 2024. Courtesy of the artist.

The complexity of Resistance of Voice lies in its refusal to reduce the female experience to a singular narrative. Tenderness and anger, fragility and resilience are juxtaposed within the same structure; they neither conflict nor require reconciliation. What Hua proposes here is a rejection of the notion that one ‘must be defined’. Through the multifaceted unfolding of sound and body, she constructs a state of being that defies categorisation, keeping the subject perpetually in a state of becoming.


Still Image of “Resistance of Voice”, 2024. Courtesy of the artist.

This work reveals the very conditions of voicing: who may speak? Within what structures? And, when a voice is heard, does it still belong to the speaker? Amidst these questions, Resistance of Voice unfolds a more nuanced critical trajectory, rendering the system visible through its continuous tremors.