Amulet Body (2024) is a performance installation that deconstructs and reimagines systems of divination and sacred-word protection. The work synthesises material symbolism, the body and participatory choreographic methods to expand and loosen imaginative space, thus creating a dynamistic environment. Ho exposes the machinations of divination, suggesting such rituals are not about certainty but rather exist as a system of techniques responding to physical and spiritual patterns in the world.

The central performance of Amulet Body incorporates a set of 150 wooden spindles housing a handwritten note containing a thought, koan of provocation. During the artist’s performance, audience members are encouraged to take a spindle and privately consider the note, either challenging the text or dutifully following the instructions. The spindle is then attached to the artist as she performs a ritualistic procession, assuming the role of a cosmic diviner among a makeshift procession of devoted followers. Amulet Body is a study of divination, an intriguing and complex phenomenon revolving around concepts of belief, faith and intuition, activated during Lunar New Year, a time traditionally associated with rebirth and fortune telling.