Exhibition: Sin Wai Kin: It’s Always You

It’s Always You, 2021, encourages viewers to reflect on the performance and commodification of identity in our present moment. The two-channel video work features a boyband of Sin’s construction in which they perform dressed up as each of the band’s four members The Universe, The Storyteller, The One, and Wai King (a pun on the artist’s name). Each sways in slow motion against a greenscreen to a slow beating rhythm, alternately taking on the frontperson’s solo as they flirtatiously repeat the captivating lyrics.

The personalities that Sin deploys through each character developed out of their careful research into boyband culture, from late 1990s groups such as the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC to contemporary groups such as BTS and Mirror. The members of such bands are often marketed individually, creating distinct fandoms around each. This sociocultural phenomenon serves as the backdrop for the universal message of It’s Always You: that all gender in the social sphere is a staged performance.