How to get out of London in 30 days is a reverse travel guide with an accompanied performance,
aiming to reveal the imperialistic illusion constructed by mass media and the immigration
policies of British government, meanwhile, examining the roles of immigrants in the never-
changing looping system. From the perspective of an immigrant in London, Cheng made the
project while waiting for the result of a painstaking visa application. The work reflects the
perpetual absurdity of the immigration policy and the growing xenophobic atmosphere,
exploring the paradoxical reciprocation between the imagined fantasy and the reality.
For the project, Cheng hired immigrants in London to give out the brochures in and around the
exhibition space. All the 500 brochures are printed and bound by the artist herself (as an
immigrant). The performance also reflects Cheng’s part-time job which not only tells us about
the real life of an immigrant but also the precarious situation artists find themselves in when
faced with the realities of work.
Text by curator Ying-Hsuan Tai for the exhibition "The xenophobia of time?"
Documentation of the performance / public interaction at the exhibition "The xenophobia of time?"