I Can Be Whatever I Want To Be
Collection:CSM Museum & Study Collection
Date: 2025
Artist: Bri Leung
Medium: Digital files
Object number: TH.2025.37.CC.1-6
Description1. Performance still 1
2. Performance still 2
3. Performance song
4. Performance transcript part 1
5. Performance transcript part 2
6. Jumping lake film
A performance piece that explores the complexity and vulnerability that comes with living as a trans person in the world today.
Description from the artist:
This performance is a personal and political exploration of anxiety, identity, and survival. Rooted in autobiographical writing, expanded through movement, projection, and song, the piece navigates what it means to live, fully and vulnerably as a trans person in a world that often questions their right to exist.
This two part performance begins with inspiration from Joan Jonas' use of projection. Like her, I use video, not just as background, but as a collaborator. I bring in the textures of water, sport, and television into the performance. Jonas’ exploration of the ocean as a life source deeply influenced my reflections on swimming, cold water, and survival.
The second part of the performance is inspired by Rosa Johan Uddoh’s ‘The Master's Tools Will Not Dismantle the Master's House Babe’. I was moved by her transformation of The Supremes’ ‘You Keep Me Hanging On’ into a vehicle for dreaming social change.
The production process was intentionally active. It involved swimming in public pools with
collaborators, documenting footage, researching representations of women and trans athletes in sport, and closely studying musical theatre and pop culture. It demanded lived experience as much as technical design developing projections, sourcing backing tracks, and sharing space with others.
I want to communicate the tension between public scrutiny and personal freedom. I reflect on how the body is seen, regulated, and celebrated, and how it can still find moments of release. Ultimately, this work speculates a better future one built through reflection, resistance, and dreaming while submerged.
2. Performance still 2
3. Performance song
4. Performance transcript part 1
5. Performance transcript part 2
6. Jumping lake film
A performance piece that explores the complexity and vulnerability that comes with living as a trans person in the world today.
Description from the artist:
This performance is a personal and political exploration of anxiety, identity, and survival. Rooted in autobiographical writing, expanded through movement, projection, and song, the piece navigates what it means to live, fully and vulnerably as a trans person in a world that often questions their right to exist.
This two part performance begins with inspiration from Joan Jonas' use of projection. Like her, I use video, not just as background, but as a collaborator. I bring in the textures of water, sport, and television into the performance. Jonas’ exploration of the ocean as a life source deeply influenced my reflections on swimming, cold water, and survival.
The second part of the performance is inspired by Rosa Johan Uddoh’s ‘The Master's Tools Will Not Dismantle the Master's House Babe’. I was moved by her transformation of The Supremes’ ‘You Keep Me Hanging On’ into a vehicle for dreaming social change.
The production process was intentionally active. It involved swimming in public pools with
collaborators, documenting footage, researching representations of women and trans athletes in sport, and closely studying musical theatre and pop culture. It demanded lived experience as much as technical design developing projections, sourcing backing tracks, and sharing space with others.
I want to communicate the tension between public scrutiny and personal freedom. I reflect on how the body is seen, regulated, and celebrated, and how it can still find moments of release. Ultimately, this work speculates a better future one built through reflection, resistance, and dreaming while submerged.