Innocent Rehearsal: Ball, Paper, Blade
Group show
HU Yinping, Jaffa LAM, Peter LIVERSIDGE, Moe SATT, Tromarama, Meng ZHANG
Tabula Rasa Gallery, Beijing
14 March – 30 April 2026
Group show
HU Yinping, Jaffa LAM, Peter LIVERSIDGE, Moe SATT, Tromarama, Meng ZHANG
Tabula Rasa Gallery, Beijing
14 March – 30 April 2026
Interview with Moe SATT
The following interview is conducted by curator Dr. Penny Dan Xu and artist Moe SATT as part of the group exhibition Innocent Rehearsal: Ball, Paper, Blade held at Tabula Rasa Gallery, Beijing.
Penny Dan Xu
You earned a degree in Zoology, yet as a child, you were already instinctively drawing all over your own body. Looking back, how did your background in science eventually merge with that early instinct to use your body as your primary medium for art?
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Hunting & Dancing, Print on Paper, 40 x 60 cm, 2006
Penny Dan Xu
Both Tyre Rolling Event and Paper Frog Fighting are based on universal forms of play. What is it about these childhood games that makes them such a powerful tool for you to explore how adults behave in society today?
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Installation view, Innocent Rehearsal: Ball, Paper, Blade, Beijing, 2026
Penny Dan Xu
In your work with paper frogs, you focus on the Myanmar word 'pharr,' which has multiple meanings—from the animal itself to a slang term for behaving obsequiously. How does this relationship between language and play allow you to communicate stories that might be difficult to express through more traditional art forms?
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Ball Lifting
Penny Dan Xu
In Tyre Rolling Event, you perform the simple act of rolling a tyre specifically alongside historical monuments in Yangon. What was the story behind choosing these significant locations, and how does the environment change the meaning of such a mundane activity?
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The Bicycle Tyre Rolling from Yangon: Innaya Lake, Photographic print on dibond, 60 x 91 cm, 2013
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The Bicycle Tyre Rolling from Yangon: Kandawgyi Park, Photographic print on dibond, 60 x 91 cm, 2013
Penny Dan Xu
Your well-known Face and Fingers series created a "new language" through 108 hand positions. Do you see these childhood-inspired games as an extension of that "gestural language," or do they allow you to reach a part of your identity that hand gestures alone cannot?
![]()
Penny Dan Xu
You have described your recent practice as "upgrading" early works by replacing the energy of your youth with the experience and knowledge you have now. When you look back at these specific performances today, how has your perspective on them evolved?
Moe Satt
Those 'upgrading' things are from my Revisit series. Honestly speaking, I felt I was running out of new ideas, so I looked back at what I’ve done before and upgraded it into a new body of work.Through this, some works transform or shift from one medium to another. For example, my very first performance piece, Untitled-1 (2005), transformed into a sculptural installation called Body Inside T-shirt. When I go back to old work, I can see that it can go into another medium and extend beyond the original. Another example is Hunting and Dancing. That was a photographic work that I transformed into a performance piece. From 'still' to 'live,' or 'live' to 'still'—something like that.But I think I have done enough with the 'Revisit' series for now. I am pausing it at this it at this moment because it is better for me to think and create totally new work.
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Penny Dan Xu
Critics often notice a sense of sarcasm or "dark humour" in your approach to everyday life. Why do you find that an ironic or playful tone is such an effective way to invite an audience to look more deeply at the "interior of the society" we live in?
Penny Dan Xu
You have noted that in your experience, artists are the primary drivers of the art scene, often acting as their own curators and organizers. How has this "do-it-yourself" background influenced the way you present your work to an international audience for the first time?
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Interview Moe SATT
Click here to download Interview
Image courtesy of the artist, Nova Contemporary and Tabula Rasa Gallery,
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Moe SATT (b. 1983, Yangon, Myanmar) is a performance and multidisciplinary artist currently based in Amsterdam. His practice spans performance, video, photography, and drawing, often exploring the body as a site of political, social, and cultural negotiation. Through minimal gestures, repetitive actions, and bodily choreography, Satt examines themes of identity, vulnerability, and resistance, often reflecting on the socio-political context of Myanmar and broader global conditions.Recent solo exhibitions and presentations include Rest the Thumbs on the Cheekbones, Delfina Foundation, London (2024); f n’ f (face and fingers) performance, The Tanks, Tate Modern, London (2024); Hunting & Dancing: 15 Years, Nova Contemporary, Bangkok (2023); F N’F (face and fingers), Delfina Foundation, London (2020); a solo presentation with Nova Contemporary at Art Basel Hong Kong (2019); If I Say It’s True Seven Times, Myanm/art Gallery, Yangon (2018); Memoir Cocktail, Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco (2017); and Alphabet No.22, Institut Français de Birmanie, Yangon (2016).
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Dr. Penny Dan XU is a London-based independent curator with over 13 years of experience across the globe’s major cultural hubs, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, Milan, and Brussels. Holding a PhD in Art History, she is the founder of Across Platform, a non-profit community dedicated to scholarly research and independent knowledge production. In addition to her curatorial practice, she serves as an advisor to the art organization Baopu FELT. Her curatorial practice champions multi-layered collaborations between researchers, artists, and curators, fostering a dynamic synergy of diverse intellectual backgrounds. By navigating the intersections of disparate media and geographies, she seeks to ignite profound dialogues that transcend boundaries. She is the recipient of the 2025 Hyundai Blue Prize.
The following interview is conducted by curator Dr. Penny Dan Xu and artist Moe SATT as part of the group exhibition Innocent Rehearsal: Ball, Paper, Blade held at Tabula Rasa Gallery, Beijing.
Penny Dan Xu
You earned a degree in Zoology, yet as a child, you were already instinctively drawing all over your own body. Looking back, how did your background in science eventually merge with that early instinct to use your body as your primary medium for art?
Moe Satt
Most children love to draw—on paper, on walls, or on themselves. When I was young, I didn't have a drawing book, and I wasn't allowed to draw on the walls, so my own body was the only 'canvas' available to me. It was a matter of necessity that became an instinct.
I later studied Zoology at the University of East Yangon. Because I was in the distance education system, I only attended classes on weekends, which gave me the freedom to work as a graphic designer during the week. In 2005, a year after graduating, I decided to fully commit to being an artist and focused all my energy on experimenting with performance art.
At first, I felt I had totally forgotten everything I learned in university. However, in my project Hunting & Dancing (2006), I finally found a way to merge my scientific studies with that early instinct to use the body as my primary medium. I explored how hand gestures from hunting culture and dance culture could combine and interact with the body—not just my own as a performer, but the bodies of the audience as well.
Most children love to draw—on paper, on walls, or on themselves. When I was young, I didn't have a drawing book, and I wasn't allowed to draw on the walls, so my own body was the only 'canvas' available to me. It was a matter of necessity that became an instinct.
I later studied Zoology at the University of East Yangon. Because I was in the distance education system, I only attended classes on weekends, which gave me the freedom to work as a graphic designer during the week. In 2005, a year after graduating, I decided to fully commit to being an artist and focused all my energy on experimenting with performance art.
At first, I felt I had totally forgotten everything I learned in university. However, in my project Hunting & Dancing (2006), I finally found a way to merge my scientific studies with that early instinct to use the body as my primary medium. I explored how hand gestures from hunting culture and dance culture could combine and interact with the body—not just my own as a performer, but the bodies of the audience as well.
Hunting & Dancing, Print on Paper, 40 x 60 cm, 2006
Penny Dan Xu
Both Tyre Rolling Event and Paper Frog Fighting are based on universal forms of play. What is it about these childhood games that makes them such a powerful tool for you to explore how adults behave in society today?
Moe Satt
To understand this, I first have to describe the Myanmar art scene in the early 2000s. Most of my senior artists dealt with very direct political and heavy issues in their work. My generation, however, wanted to do something different; we didn't want to simply follow in the footsteps of those who came before us.This was the main reason I chose to work with 'light' issues, such as childhood games. My idea was to play with the contrast between these games and the heavy reality of the current political scenery.
The games I chose—like Tyre Rolling and Paper Frog Fighting—are not necessarily the 'traditional' games you often see in art. Many artists like to paint traditional toys made of papier-mâché or clay, but I prefer contemporary games that I actually played. For me, these specific games carry a context that connects my own childhood and contemporary society of Myanmar.
To understand this, I first have to describe the Myanmar art scene in the early 2000s. Most of my senior artists dealt with very direct political and heavy issues in their work. My generation, however, wanted to do something different; we didn't want to simply follow in the footsteps of those who came before us.This was the main reason I chose to work with 'light' issues, such as childhood games. My idea was to play with the contrast between these games and the heavy reality of the current political scenery.
The games I chose—like Tyre Rolling and Paper Frog Fighting—are not necessarily the 'traditional' games you often see in art. Many artists like to paint traditional toys made of papier-mâché or clay, but I prefer contemporary games that I actually played. For me, these specific games carry a context that connects my own childhood and contemporary society of Myanmar.
Installation view, Innocent Rehearsal: Ball, Paper, Blade, Beijing, 2026
Penny Dan Xu
In your work with paper frogs, you focus on the Myanmar word 'pharr,' which has multiple meanings—from the animal itself to a slang term for behaving obsequiously. How does this relationship between language and play allow you to communicate stories that might be difficult to express through more traditional art forms?
Moe Satt
I’ve always been fascinated with language. Most of my friends are in the literature field—they are writers and poets—and I spent a lot of time hanging out and drinking with them. I am also inspired by artists like Bruce Nauman and Barbara Kruger, who use words in their work.
Because of these influences, I like to play with words that have double meanings. For example, in Myanmar, the word 'pharr' refers to the animal, but it is also slang for behaving obsequiously—acting like a 'toady' to please someone in power.
By using language and play together, I can raise questions and reflect on the society I live in. In another work, Ball Lifting, I took the direct meaning by casting my own hand lifting a ball. In our society, this is a pun that carries a much heavier social meaning. This relationship between words and objects allows me to tell stories that are difficult to express through more traditional, literal art forms.
I’ve always been fascinated with language. Most of my friends are in the literature field—they are writers and poets—and I spent a lot of time hanging out and drinking with them. I am also inspired by artists like Bruce Nauman and Barbara Kruger, who use words in their work.
Because of these influences, I like to play with words that have double meanings. For example, in Myanmar, the word 'pharr' refers to the animal, but it is also slang for behaving obsequiously—acting like a 'toady' to please someone in power.
By using language and play together, I can raise questions and reflect on the society I live in. In another work, Ball Lifting, I took the direct meaning by casting my own hand lifting a ball. In our society, this is a pun that carries a much heavier social meaning. This relationship between words and objects allows me to tell stories that are difficult to express through more traditional, literal art forms.
Ball Lifting
In Tyre Rolling Event, you perform the simple act of rolling a tyre specifically alongside historical monuments in Yangon. What was the story behind choosing these significant locations, and how does the environment change the meaning of such a mundane activity?
Moe Satt
In the bicycle tyre rolling event, I chose four locations. These locations have a deep historical context, but they also have a very personal context for me. For example, the Independence Monument in Mahar Bandula Park is the center of Yangon. Most protests gather around or in front of that park. But when I was young in the 90s, my family had picnics there on the weekends. It is a rare memory of my family spending time together in a place that is otherwise very political.
Another location is Kandawgyi Park, where the Royal Boat is—a major landmark in Yangon. During the socialist government of the 70s, the Royal Boat was a restaurant. My father told me about the first time he ate cheese there; one of his friends said, 'What a salty tofu it is!'
In the 90s, that park was a place for students to hang out and skip school. Our 90s were very violent. There were school fights between gangs from different schools, and as youngsters, we carried chains and iron fists in our school bags, ready to fight. Those physical school fights only happened until the late 90s. When video games emerged, kids stopped fighting physically and started fighting in the games instead. So, these places hold memories for both me and my dad, from his 'salty tofu' to my school fights.
In the bicycle tyre rolling event, I chose four locations. These locations have a deep historical context, but they also have a very personal context for me. For example, the Independence Monument in Mahar Bandula Park is the center of Yangon. Most protests gather around or in front of that park. But when I was young in the 90s, my family had picnics there on the weekends. It is a rare memory of my family spending time together in a place that is otherwise very political.
Another location is Kandawgyi Park, where the Royal Boat is—a major landmark in Yangon. During the socialist government of the 70s, the Royal Boat was a restaurant. My father told me about the first time he ate cheese there; one of his friends said, 'What a salty tofu it is!'
In the 90s, that park was a place for students to hang out and skip school. Our 90s were very violent. There were school fights between gangs from different schools, and as youngsters, we carried chains and iron fists in our school bags, ready to fight. Those physical school fights only happened until the late 90s. When video games emerged, kids stopped fighting physically and started fighting in the games instead. So, these places hold memories for both me and my dad, from his 'salty tofu' to my school fights.
The Bicycle Tyre Rolling from Yangon: Innaya Lake, Photographic print on dibond, 60 x 91 cm, 2013
The Bicycle Tyre Rolling from Yangon: Kandawgyi Park, Photographic print on dibond, 60 x 91 cm, 2013
Penny Dan Xu
Your well-known Face and Fingers series created a "new language" through 108 hand positions. Do you see these childhood-inspired games as an extension of that "gestural language," or do they allow you to reach a part of your identity that hand gestures alone cannot?
Moe Satt
When I created Face and Fingers, I was 25 years old—still young. I had already passed from childhood to my teenage years and then into my 20s. During the process of creation, I could recall some images from my childhood and memories of childhood play.
For example, a hand covering the face like a Power Ranger mask, or something similar to that. And some hand gestures I used for teasing with other kids—buulaaalarrrla! So, it’s not only that childhood-inspired games drive the work. It is more like childhood memory. I think I had a happier childhood than others, I guess.
When I created Face and Fingers, I was 25 years old—still young. I had already passed from childhood to my teenage years and then into my 20s. During the process of creation, I could recall some images from my childhood and memories of childhood play.
For example, a hand covering the face like a Power Ranger mask, or something similar to that. And some hand gestures I used for teasing with other kids—buulaaalarrrla! So, it’s not only that childhood-inspired games drive the work. It is more like childhood memory. I think I had a happier childhood than others, I guess.
Paper Frog Fighting, Single channel video, 2'7'', 2016
Penny Dan Xu
You have described your recent practice as "upgrading" early works by replacing the energy of your youth with the experience and knowledge you have now. When you look back at these specific performances today, how has your perspective on them evolved?
Moe Satt
Those 'upgrading' things are from my Revisit series. Honestly speaking, I felt I was running out of new ideas, so I looked back at what I’ve done before and upgraded it into a new body of work.Through this, some works transform or shift from one medium to another. For example, my very first performance piece, Untitled-1 (2005), transformed into a sculptural installation called Body Inside T-shirt. When I go back to old work, I can see that it can go into another medium and extend beyond the original. Another example is Hunting and Dancing. That was a photographic work that I transformed into a performance piece. From 'still' to 'live,' or 'live' to 'still'—something like that.But I think I have done enough with the 'Revisit' series for now. I am pausing it at this it at this moment because it is better for me to think and create totally new work.
Body Inside T-shirt, Sculptural Installation, 2024
Penny Dan Xu
Critics often notice a sense of sarcasm or "dark humour" in your approach to everyday life. Why do you find that an ironic or playful tone is such an effective way to invite an audience to look more deeply at the "interior of the society" we live in?
Moe Satt
I like to use the word 'mock.' Mocking is very rare to see in our Myanmar art society. Most artists deal directly with the meaning—showing how poor we are, how our society is bad, and 'blah blah blah.'
As I mentioned before, our generation likes to do something different. That’s why we use 'mocking' in our art. Especially me and my friend, Marat Lunn Htwann, we deal with that.Twenty years ago, one of our senior artists in Southeast Asia, Lee Wen, said that artists live in society, but better artists have to go outside of it and look back at society from the outside view.
That is what artists do. As I understand it, it is 'social commentary,' and I add the mocking to it. You know, living under a military junta was not easy, so mocking the society is our way of expressing ourselves.
I like to use the word 'mock.' Mocking is very rare to see in our Myanmar art society. Most artists deal directly with the meaning—showing how poor we are, how our society is bad, and 'blah blah blah.'
As I mentioned before, our generation likes to do something different. That’s why we use 'mocking' in our art. Especially me and my friend, Marat Lunn Htwann, we deal with that.Twenty years ago, one of our senior artists in Southeast Asia, Lee Wen, said that artists live in society, but better artists have to go outside of it and look back at society from the outside view.
That is what artists do. As I understand it, it is 'social commentary,' and I add the mocking to it. You know, living under a military junta was not easy, so mocking the society is our way of expressing ourselves.
Penny Dan Xu
You have noted that in your experience, artists are the primary drivers of the art scene, often acting as their own curators and organizers. How has this "do-it-yourself" background influenced the way you present your work to an international audience for the first time?
Moe Satt
In Myanmar, the art infrastructure was not really developed. So, artists had to do all the tasks by ourselves—hanging the paintings, installing the work, and sending invitation cards one by one in person or by phone. There were no curators, so artists had to book the gallery dates and set up the exhibitions themselves. I grew up in that D.I.Y. generation.That’s why I have a volunteering spirit. When we have an exhibition, all our friends come to help. If my friends have an exhibition, we go and help them.
I remember a senior artist who had a chance to show his work at a biennale in Japan; he brought every small thing with him—nails, screws, everything. He told me, 'We don’t know where to find those small things abroad, so it’s better to bring them.' It sounds like a weird thing, but that is the reality for us.
I remember another time when I performed for the Myanmar community in Korea. I asked them to find a video camera and a projector because I wanted to do a live recording of my performance and project it directly onto the wall. They found the camera and the projector, but no cable to connect them. Again, a weird thing, but it’s our reality. How this D.I.Y. background influenced me was that, for a long time, I brought every single material with me for my performances. But later, I moved toward minimalism. I decided not to rely on any materials—just the body. That was one of the main reasons the Face and Fingers performance came out.
In Myanmar, the art infrastructure was not really developed. So, artists had to do all the tasks by ourselves—hanging the paintings, installing the work, and sending invitation cards one by one in person or by phone. There were no curators, so artists had to book the gallery dates and set up the exhibitions themselves. I grew up in that D.I.Y. generation.That’s why I have a volunteering spirit. When we have an exhibition, all our friends come to help. If my friends have an exhibition, we go and help them.
I remember a senior artist who had a chance to show his work at a biennale in Japan; he brought every small thing with him—nails, screws, everything. He told me, 'We don’t know where to find those small things abroad, so it’s better to bring them.' It sounds like a weird thing, but that is the reality for us.
I remember another time when I performed for the Myanmar community in Korea. I asked them to find a video camera and a projector because I wanted to do a live recording of my performance and project it directly onto the wall. They found the camera and the projector, but no cable to connect them. Again, a weird thing, but it’s our reality. How this D.I.Y. background influenced me was that, for a long time, I brought every single material with me for my performances. But later, I moved toward minimalism. I decided not to rely on any materials—just the body. That was one of the main reasons the Face and Fingers performance came out.
Moe Satt, F n’ F (Face and Fingers) 2008-2012.
Interview Moe SATT
Click here to download Interview
Image courtesy of the artist, Nova Contemporary and Tabula Rasa Gallery,
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Moe SATT (b. 1983, Yangon, Myanmar) is a performance and multidisciplinary artist currently based in Amsterdam. His practice spans performance, video, photography, and drawing, often exploring the body as a site of political, social, and cultural negotiation. Through minimal gestures, repetitive actions, and bodily choreography, Satt examines themes of identity, vulnerability, and resistance, often reflecting on the socio-political context of Myanmar and broader global conditions.Recent solo exhibitions and presentations include Rest the Thumbs on the Cheekbones, Delfina Foundation, London (2024); f n’ f (face and fingers) performance, The Tanks, Tate Modern, London (2024); Hunting & Dancing: 15 Years, Nova Contemporary, Bangkok (2023); F N’F (face and fingers), Delfina Foundation, London (2020); a solo presentation with Nova Contemporary at Art Basel Hong Kong (2019); If I Say It’s True Seven Times, Myanm/art Gallery, Yangon (2018); Memoir Cocktail, Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco (2017); and Alphabet No.22, Institut Français de Birmanie, Yangon (2016).
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Dr. Penny Dan XU is a London-based independent curator with over 13 years of experience across the globe’s major cultural hubs, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, Milan, and Brussels. Holding a PhD in Art History, she is the founder of Across Platform, a non-profit community dedicated to scholarly research and independent knowledge production. In addition to her curatorial practice, she serves as an advisor to the art organization Baopu FELT. Her curatorial practice champions multi-layered collaborations between researchers, artists, and curators, fostering a dynamic synergy of diverse intellectual backgrounds. By navigating the intersections of disparate media and geographies, she seeks to ignite profound dialogues that transcend boundaries. She is the recipient of the 2025 Hyundai Blue Prize.
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