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Yi Zhang (they/she) is an anti-disciplinary artist-researcher based in Eindhoven, who works across drawing, video, performance, installation, and workshops. Grounded in migration ecology and feminist ecology, their work traces the movements of human and non-human, material afterlives, and the border rejection towards these movements. Alongside artistic practice, they are a fermenter and forager.
Yi Zhang (they/she) is an anti-disciplinary artist-researcher based in Eindhoven, who works across drawing, video, performance, installation, and workshops. Grounded in migration ecology and feminist ecology, their work traces the movements of human and non-human, material afterlives, and the border rejection towards these movements. Alongside artistic practice, they are a fermenter and forager.


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Revision as of 18:12, 2 July 2026

Rat King Board Game
Name Rat King Board Game
Location H&D Studio
Date 2026/07/14
Time 16:30—18:30
PeopleOrganisations Yi Zhang
Type HDSC2026
Web Yes
Print No

This event is only for participants of the Summer Camp 2026 and not open to the public, want to join us: check the HDSC2026 Clouds to Commons Public Program

This board game is designed around the transnational, trans-century migration trajectory of the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, dock rat, Hanover rat, or Norwegian rat. Their numerous names may reflect the species' long journey and its many encounters with humans across different times, spaces, and regions.

Originating in northern China, Mongolia and Siberia, the brown rat has now spread to every continent except Antarctica (reaching as far as South Georgia Island near the Antarctic). They have become the most widespread rodent across most of Europe and North America, firmly established in worldwide ecosystems.

A “rat king” is a rare phenomenon in which a group of rats becomes physically tangled together by their tails, which has been recorded in many parts of the world. I understand it as a kind of glitch in everyday reality, an entanglement that appears when enough encounters and conditions allow it to emerge. Through this game, we will collectively speculate on the movements of brown rat families and explore how their migration paths intersect with climate change, colonial navigation, human expansion, global trade, and ongoing efforts to eradicate them. What other forms of glitches might emerge within this continual flow of reality?

Timeline:

  • Approximately 1.5 hours
  • 10 mins introduction
  • 80 mins play in groups

Access note:

  • Everyone welcome!

Bio:

Yi Zhang (they/she) is an anti-disciplinary artist-researcher based in Eindhoven, who works across drawing, video, performance, installation, and workshops. Grounded in migration ecology and feminist ecology, their work traces the movements of human and non-human, material afterlives, and the border rejection towards these movements. Alongside artistic practice, they are a fermenter and forager.

HD workshops new5.jpg