Milee the Sheep and her Animal Orchestra
Performance by Feng-Ru Lee
Saturday 7th November 2009
The Collection, Danes Terrace, Lincoln

Feng-Ru Lee describes her practice as, “both a critique and an attempt to understand the seemingly controversial issues involved in the state of the contemporary human condition.” Specifically, her work seeks to explore the science, philosophy and ethics behind modern technologies such as animal experimentation and cloning. The creation of her alter-ego Milee the Sheep is a response and a homage to Dolly, the world's first successfully cloned mammal.

Performing as Milee the Sheep for the Lincoln Art Programme, Lee formed an orchestra of eight other animals specifically chosen as species that humans have successfully cloned, including a dog, a deer, a monkey, a rabbit and a pig. These participants/performers formed part of a new piece of work combining film, sound and live action within a traditional auditorium space. Composed of three discrete sections, Lee's project aimed to address notions of audience engagement with performance, through creating an overtly theatrical experience whilst inviting other people to collaborate and participate within the work. The event began with a short, if surreal, film depicting Milee the Sheep and her orchestra playing musical instruments in a woodland environment late into the night.

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The second part saw the orchestra, who were seated as members of the audience in the auditorium, rise from their seats, put on their animal heads and take to the floor. The music they made was disjointed, haunting and broken, a reflection of the result of human interference and experimentation. Finally, Lee conducted the audience in a participatory session, where they became part of a one-minute sound work, using paper as the primary instrument.

Feng-Ru Lee's work as an artist offers a complex mixture of political and social issues, presented in a humorous and subversive format. Her artistic practice draws on themes of cultural and personal identity, and symbolism which is rooted in her East Asian cultural heritage but retaining universal meaning. The artist's practice is diverse and encompasses drawing, painting, installation, film and performance, and typically involves elements of audience participation or collaboration.