For all the boys finding soft moments in hard places
“Masked Rituals” with @_marce_____marron_@flipchart_instrumentinventors
It’s always extra nerve-wracking performing in your home base but it was so so special to share this work with friends cheering in the front row, with new faces, and with martial arts fans who could see our love for boxing and what we’re trying to do.
Thanks to @arisiology for programming us, @instrumentinventors for hosting, @helenaroigg for these beautiful photos, to vocal talent @nileharris for bringing the commentary to life, @mosatron for being my online coach, and @perfocraze_international and @stroom_den_haag for supporting this work in the first place
Stay tuned for upcoming dates 💥🥊💋
“Resolution determines visibility” -Hito Steyerl
This video of “On Illegibility” has been two years in the making and now especially thanks to @flora_reznik_videography it’s done!
On Illegibility is a lecture performance on the politics of identification within biometric technology such as facial recognition and fingerprint scanners. This lecture unpacks what it means to be legible in the eyes of the state and society, and looks into strategies of camouflage, masking and ambiguity built into “illegible” bodies and faces.
Link in bio for full length trailer
Videography by @flora_reznik_videography
Sound design, mixing and mastering by @an3_at
Face recognition app development by @stef.kors
Makeup by @charlottevanbeusekom
Supported by @instrumentinventors and @stroom_den_haag #facialrecognition #biometrics #lectureperformance
💧🌸🥊
Masked Rituals is back this spring!
May 3 @zaal3denhaag May 5 @volksroom (Brussels) May 9 @worm_rotterdam salon of queer indoctrinations
Some of my fave moments from past performances:
1. 2025 Poster
2. Setting up for our first performance at the mango ase gym arena at Oduon crossing (@perfocraze_international )
3. A bunch of kids chanting our names
4. The original poster stuck on the back of a shirt
5-7 Images from MASC ™ @thehangout070 (photos by @rowanmoonlion
8. Dog reacts
9 Getting intimate at @acker_stadt_palast
10. A sweet text
11. A 15 year old boy asks to spar with us
12. Marcelo fights @clemencia.chihuahua
This performance has come such a long way and has brought us so many surprising interactions and beautiful connections. I think that’s a pretty good sign
@instrumentinventors@bartalk.dh@zaal3denhaag@volksroom@worm_rotterdam
🥊HEX HOOX💅🏻
Cutie BPOC martial arts class
Date: Apr 22, 2026
Time: 19:00 - 21:00
Location: The Hang-Out 070
FREE!!!
HEX HOOX is a martial arts class for QTBPOC (Queer Trans Black and People of Colour).
These classes are not just about technique or sparring, they are also about inhabiting our bodies, finding expression through movement, and creating openings for connection.
These classes are consent-centered and community-based. This means that nothing is obligatory but you are invited to push your own limits.
First class on boxing and kickboxing basics led by Aidan Okashi & Yun Lee
Sign up via link in bio
This Saturday Feb 28, I’ll be performing “Proximity Drill II: conflict as practice” as part of “BECOMING Body Politics” @zaal3denhaag curated by Black Silk and Hasan Gök.
This performance is composed of boxing movements, a pendulum instrument, and thoughts on what we can learn from the art of boxing about being in conflict.
Photos by @lara.varat at the last @bartalk.dh
Snapshots from BARTALK speakeasy: Playfight Club with @eel.feels
We practiced verbal and non-verbal consent before learning a couple of grappling moves and facing off with each other on the fighting mat.
This Saturday 15 Nov at @thehangout070 , Yun will be giving a performance and sharing thoughts on what we can learn from sparring.
Photos by @lara.varat
💥BARTALK #28: CONFLICT: to strike together💥
Date: 15 November, 2025
Time: 20:00
Location: The Hang-Out 070, The Hague
Featuring: Jana Romanova, James Parnell, Yun Lee, Naya de Souza
DJ: @fernandofinds
Bespoke cocktails: @volksamt
“In conflict with the world, we discover the boundaries of who we are and what we believe”, writes debating world champion Bo Seo, in “The Art of Disagreeing Well”. He makes the argument that in a period of intense polarisation, the issue is not that we disagree too much, but that we disagree badly; we come to discussions assuming bad intentions, blocking us from listening and learning from each other, rendering our arguments painful and useless.
Engaging in generative conflict, on the other hand, allows us to come into a conversation with the intention of gaining greater understanding of different viewpoints and potentially forming deeper connections with each other.
This year, BARTALK focuses on injecting playfulness in the process of engaging in conflict. From reorienting our relationship with gossip to unleashing the political power of comedy, this program aims to use artistic and game strategies to create low-stakes, playful settings to practice our communication skills while engaging in difficult topics.
Reserve a spot via link in bio!
Poster by @akash.sh.sh
🤼 Playfight Club 🤼♂️
With @eel.feels
4 October 2025
Location: @thehangout070
As kids, we engage in daily physical play, learning the boundaries of our bodies and those of others as we poke, balance, fall.
Playfight club re-introduces physical playfulness to adults and the art of reading and communicating through the body. We will explore nonverbal communication of boundaries by borrowing from martial arts signals and creating our own. After setting some ground rules, we will go through some exercises before entering the playfight arena.
This session is all about getting acquainted with your physical and mental boundaries, and learning when to maintain them and when you can stretch them.
More info and sign up via link in bio!
Banner by @akash.sh.sh
This event is presented by BARTALK with the generous support of @thehangout070 and @stroom_den_haag
🍹 Exciting announcement! BARTALK is back! 🍸 BARTALK’s program this fall is dedicated to injecting playfulness in the process of engaging in conflict.
We start off with a new workshop/play series (Speakeasy) dedicated to practicing the art of communication in its many forms, leading to a larger BARTALK event -SCHEDULE- September 20 🌥️The Weather Report with Jana Romanova ☔️ 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘱
October 4 🤼♀️ Playfight Club with Yun Lee 🤼♂️
𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 October 26 🗣️ Rumour has it with James Parnell 👂🏼 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱
November 14 🤣Laugh so you don’t cry with Naya de Souza 🎭
𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯
November 15 🥊BARTALK #29: CONFLICT “to strike together”⚔️ Each event comes with a signature cocktail created by artist Gökay Atabek (@volksamt ) to sip throughout or after the event. More info via links in bio
——
BARTALK’s program this year is made possible with the generous support of @stroom_den_haag@thehangout070 and @instrumentinventors
Masked Rituals at Zaal 3
03.05.2025
Time | 20:30
at Zaal 3, Het Nationale Theater, The Hague
‘Masked Rituals’ is a fight both for and against masculinity. Marcelo “Killah” Daza and Yun “Jade Fist” Lee undergo drills and protection rituals before engaging in a fight to exhaustion. Navigating attraction and repulsion, intimacy and violence, the performance uses elements of boxing like drills, ring walks, stare downs to explore masculinity and homoerotic tension within the sport. The performance is followed by a Q&A moderated by Elena Apostolovski.
More info via link in bio 🔼
Yun Lee is a US-born, Hong Kong–raised artist and curator working with lecture-performance, sound, and digital culture. Their practice questions how technologically filtered ways of seeing and hearing shape our understanding of being human. Barred from martial arts training as a child, Yun later fell in love with boxing and MMA and has trained for several years.
Marcelo S. Daza is a multidisciplinary artist from Chile, based in Berlin. Working in music, sound, and installation across theatre, performance, and dance, Marcelo creates shared sensorial experiences and different platforms for underrepresented artists in the city. His work spans festivals, theatres, digital platforms, and street interventions.
@eel.feels@eapostolovski@zaal3denhaag@hetnationaletheater
Video by @idamyraida
Masked Rituals at Ackerstadt Palast
Dates: 29-30.11.2024
Time: 20:00
Location: Ackerstadt Palast, Berlin
Performance by Marcelo Daza & Yun Lee
In “Masked Rituals” two fighters engage in drills and rituals of protection before facing off in a fight to exhaustion. The performance exploits elements of boxing such as drills, ring walks and stare downs to explore spectrums of masculinity and the homoerotic tension that exist within the sport. Through this, the fighters navigate the lines between attraction and repulsion, intimacy and violence.
The fight is accompanied by an increasingly surreal commentary which gradually shifts from narration to generated text on capitalist masculinity, eventually melting into a cinematic soundtrack as the fighters begin to collapse. In essence, “Masked Rituals” is a fight for and against masculinity.
@eel.feels@_marce_____marron_
“Masked Rituals” returns to Ackerstadt Palast for a 2-night run.
@acker_stadt_palast
#culture #thehaguehotspots #thehague #artinthenetherlands #experimental #sound #event #artscience #hostedprogram #thehagueart #denhaagkunst #host #performance #ArtsFestival #TheHagueCulture #installation #photography #masculinity #intimacy
