Mel Chan was born in a former colony of the British Empire (Hong Kong), grew up witnessing the paradigm shift (from neoliberalism to totalitarianism to ecological crisis) and lives in the diaspora of western Europe (the Netherlands). “The End of the World” for her is much more than a metaphor – it is a painful fact that we need to embrace, “trouble” that we need to deal with, as sociologist Donna Haraway advocates.

Mel Chan’s artistic research traces the intricate relations between our dystopian situation and the legacies of colonialism and neo-colonialism. Encompassing participatory performances, hypnotherapy, storytelling, painting and video, her practice guides people to live with the crisis and gives hope in insecure times.

Based in the Netherlands, she has exhibited and performed in various art spaces in The Hague, Amsterdam, Leiden and Scotland, among others. She graduated from Master Artistic Research at the KABK in 2019 and has a double major degree in Philosophy and Comparative Literature from the University of Hong Kong.