* Ritual, Noise, and the Cut-up: The Art of Tara Transitory *

About

“Chia’s artistic identity is one that defies the artificial borders and boundaries of the modern nation state.  Going beyond the notion of the individual simply as a constituent of a nation and its projected cultural identity, (s)he bypasses the need for mass appeal or approval and instead subscribes to the independent nature that characterises folk – the resistance to a canon.” – June Yap, The WIRE

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Tara Transitory is an artist based between Europe and Southeast Asia working at the intersection of sound, ritual, and spectral geographies. Her practice has evolved from ephemeral performances to sculptural installations that treat sound as both material and memory – shaping environments that invite trance, altered listening, and embodied forms of knowledge. Transitory’s work listens for the resonances and vibrations underlying daily life, tracing how gender, identity, and collective memory are transmitted and troubled through sonic means and decolonial action.

Since 2018, she has worked with Baly Nguyễn as Nguyễn + Transitory, creating works that traverse noise, rhythm, and ritual through decolonial, intersectional trans-feminist perspectives rooted in Southeast Asian and diasporic queer experience. She is also a founding member of SOU, a new Global Majority focused arts initiative based in Southeast Asia.

Her collaborations include Audrey Chen, Pierre Bastien, Kakushin Nishihara, Chaiwat Prumprajum, and Wukir Suryadi. Her works have appeared internationally at venues such as CTM Festival (Berlin), Guggenheim Museum (Bilbao), MAIIAM (Chiang Mai), MaerzMusik/Berliner Festspiele (Berlin), and Wiener Festwochen (Vienna). Recent projects include suân ซ่วน (2025, Tanz im August), Drifting To The Rhythms At The Southeast Of Nowhere (2025, MAIIAM and MaerzMusik), the installation thres|hold (2025, KINDL – Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin), and ongoing explorations of sonic geographies in Southeast Asian queer and trans contexts.

She has received numerous grants and awards, including the Berlin Artistic Research Grant and DAAD Artist-In-Residence Berlin.

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