Zoë Chungong - St4r

In “St4r” (working title), we follow the young artist St4r. She is being filmed for a music documentary about her life on tour. On stage, we see an interplay between footage from her documentary and her live performance. How does she cope with the feeling of being constantly watched—and all the voices that come with it? Can she handle the pressure? Can she stay true to herself without losing her mind?

I examined how female bodies are commodified in the music industry. “St4r” views female pop stars as economic machines and explores the boundary between the artistic and the commercial. When was the last time we saw an image of a woman in the music world that hadn’t been retouched—something that wasn’t an artificial construct? Which industries profit from this? And how did culture become a product that generates profit?

Zoë Chungong (24) was discovered by Jan Martens in 2020 when he was looking for dancers for his production *Any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones*—a show that toured to over 22 countries. Since then, Zoë has also performed in his production *The dog days are over 2.0*. Additionally, she has appeared in *What we can do together* by Lisi Estaràs and *Gaze* by Laura Neyskens.

In 2023, Zoë took her first steps as a creator through residencies at Nona, Dansbrabant, and Campo. She subsequently participated in the *Vaart* artist development program by fABULEUS and premiered her solo performance *The Ethereal Paradox* early this year (produced by fABULEUS, in co-production with STUK and Perpodium, and in collaboration with c o r s o).