Angela Kan - My Alien Transformation

Name:  Angela Kan

D.O.B.:  28/10/1981

Country:  Hong Kong / The World

Gender: Female

Occupation:  TV host / writer

Transformation Location:  Mer Ka Ba Beach Club August 27
 

Are you on vacation or do you live in Koh Phangan?  For how long?  How did you come to know about the island? 
I’m on vacation. Wait, I’m almost permanently “on vacation” because my work is my “vacation” – I came to Koh Phangan to film “Beach Life with Angela Kan” (on TLC, a Discovery channel) extolling the sheer awesomeness of living the dream life by the beach. So Koh Phangan seemed appropo. I’ve known about the island for quite some time, having visited some 10 years back, not for the Full Moon Party (alas!), but a psytrance party at Paradise Waterfall. Those were the days! 

What are your thoughts on Koh Phangan?  Has your experience here been inspiring in any way?  How so? 
I love Koh Phangan. There are no two ways about it. That’s why I was so eager to feature it alongside classic island destinations like Boracay and Bali. I felt that it was one of the greats, even though it’s just a tiny place. Most of all, it needed some good PR, it’s not just a “Full Moon” party island full of Haad Rin wreckage and bucket-fueled fun… there’s so much more. I find it to be a hotbed of fun-loving, intrepid, nomadic explorers – lots of freelancers I know started to make a seasonal home of it and it became this gathering of the creative tribe. The people make the place. I find myself very much inspired by the lifestyles and the island philosophy of the people on Phangan. It’s a bricolage of all types. 

When, where, and how did you meet the Alien Sistars?  Did they contact you or did you contact them to be alienized? 
I met the Alien Sisters via the interwebs first, and immediately I fell in love with the way they described themselves online. It’s a bit like online dating, picking people for the show. We handpicked them for “Beach Life” as a way to feature artists and creative people who make up Koh Phangan’s colorful diversity. Also, they just looked mad fun. My friend doing the research for the show was already raving about them before I met them. I wondered if I had set my hopes too high (seeing as you never know about these ‘online’ hook ups – haha)… but when I first laid eyes on their feathered, floral-pack-a-punch, bedazzled selves, I was in love. They even moved and swayed differently, leaving a trail of glitter behind them wherever they go. It’s like all life is art for them. 
 

When and where did you get transformed into an alien? what is your opinion of the location? Would you return? 
I was transformed at Mellow Mountain. True to form, it was a pretty mellow-yellow spot overlooking sand and sea, sort of a balcony up high. The location was wonderful as it was partially outdoors and I didn’t know one can be body painted out in the public, in the open. I felt it was a very honest exchange in that way, as I allowed myself to be seen throughout the process. Several people spotted us, employees and visitors who stumbled in early, etc… and these folks seemed to approve of the art, it was exciting to nod heads and see those raised eyebrows while we did our filming and transforming business right there. I would go again for sure. 
 

In the Sistars interview, they explain that when body painting they are transferring positive alien data into the skin of human beings.  Did you feel any symptoms from their data transfer?  If so, what are they? 
I do believe in a transfer – when someone creates on your body, changing the way you look and think about yourself, while carrying a strong intention – it’s practically impossible NOT to feel like something is happening… it’s not skin deep, but something more rooted to your core. You start to question your way of presenting yourself – is that identity of yours that solid, anyway? The Alien Sisters were enjoying the process so much, by osmosis I was feeling the positive vibes… and it was looking so amazing, I just sat there appreciating their work, and all the effort that was put in, so that I could have a wild night sharing my form and movement on the dance floor, it’s an energy exchange and their art was a force to be reckoned with that night, attracting all manner of fun, bringing people to me as the body art beckoned them over. 
 

Did the alien transformation have any effect on your natural human behavior? 
With the Alien Sisters set on beautifying just about anything they see in sight… I felt like one of their pet projects and we wanted to film the whole process of transformation from start till finish for “Beach Life”… how does being a human canvas differ from, say, just fancy dressing? I had no idea how it would feel – up till then, I’d put on some make up and a frilly top before a beach party and that would be it. The moment they whisked me off it was exactly what people call an “art jam” – it was so collaborative, fun and engaging, we were laughing all the way as the sisters turned me from a human to an alien… in a way they “drew out” parts of me that were hidden, so an alter ego (the alien, artiste, crazy side of me) was able to be unleashed. It’s such a liberating feeling. To dig deep into the psyche and draw out parts of me that I didn’t know existed. So after I had full body paint on, plus massive Burning Man-worthy headdress and was decked out in fluro “data”– I was finally ready for the party. My normal behavior had been replaced my a sense that I could be whoever I wanted that night – it was pure spontaneity, responding to people who loved the body art, and dancing deep into the darkest hour – I was on fire! You really let go, as there’s a sort of anonymity that comes with it. You no longer have to serve that usual “purpose”, you can take off your identity “hat” and just let yourself be completely free. If that’s “alien”, sign me up! 
 

Did your new alien super powers make you feel differently than you normally would have without them? What effects did they have on those around you as you were walking through the crowd? 
Everyone was mesmerized by the art itself… there’s a disappearing of the human “self” into the collective consciousness – especially on the dance floor… this tends to happen anyway if you’re really into the beats (music gives you super powers too!) but here I was so “in it” (the experience) and my personal “identity” had left my body so much that I felt very attuned to my new friends there, I was naturally tuned into what people felt or did around me. We contact danced the whole night, as a result… everyone was taking photos, touching the glitter and mirrored pieces super glued onto me (which got me a bit giggly), communicating with me fully… it didn’t feel like was about attention-seeking so much as gathering everyone to a nexus of fun and everyone kind of having a moment of connection and, well, simply, playing together. When you’re dressed like a “totem of fun” people naturally gravitate towards you, not because it’s about you, but it’s about the you:me:we (all of us)… we all want to be a part of the fun. 
 

What were the human’s reactions to your new alien appearance? Did you inspire anyone? 
YES!!! It was a co-creation of the highest order because the experience is NOT complete without crowd interaction. People are my cause. You’ve got to love the people. Everyone felt inspired by the costuming, and I even told the Alien Sistars, you put my old ideas of Fancy Dress parties to shame!!! I hadn’t put enough effort in at all, previously…and when you finally do, and you bring yourself to dressing up, painting yourself, and donning a festive hat – then people respond and it’s like they feel you’ve put in energy to the party. Like you’re the energizer bunny and your costuming is part of the fuel that adds to the success of the party. Mostly, people are just drawn into a surreal, different world… that’s why it’s “Alien” I suppose: it feels outta-this-stratosphere, where, (even if you’re not under the influence) you’re having a trippy and oddly enlightening experience, watching something dance the dance of life… it’s very cosmic, because I’ve got this painted reptilian form and people don’t see where I start and where I end… it’s a meditation on itself about the “self”… 
 

Was your experience memorable or special in any way? How so? 
It was the experience of a lifetime. I’d bring myself to the Alien Sisters again anytime, to ready myself for a party. Not only are the photos incredible, it was a tremendously uplifting experience to interact with people from all walks of life… I mean, I was already the one dressed the most freaky and even THAT was being appreciated – so everyone was “accepted” in that way… nothing is too freaky or out of this world, once you step in looking like an “alien”… people really dig that. And because I was so identity-less in my new form they picked up on that and let themselves loose too. We all cut ourselves some slack and had a footloose and fancy-free night, dancing the evening away, nothing else mattered save for the present moment – it was a time to sparkle and shine, a time to gather together in an epic celebration of life. 

Would you be willing to have them transform you into an alien again?  Has the experience inspired you in any way?  How so? 
YES, PLEASE. I believe that this “alien” part of us needs to be let out every so often to keep the balance. Full moon or no full moon. We tend to think of transformation as such an esoteric, floating-in-the-ether thing (or non-thing?) that it becomes too conceptual. Just get art bombed by the sisters, you’ll let that transformation soak in, nice and easy. It’s not about some heavy philosophical or metaphysical mental experience, it’s about a human experience that they have elevated into an art form into what they call an “alien realm” – that, to me, is just a safe place of complete surrender, acceptance of your being (discarding notions of the self, body, the ego) and just letting go. It’s inspired me to live more truly to that-which-I-cannot-describe. The carpe diem-ing, dreamer-me, that has the feeling that we’re infinite and not only material or human bits and bobs, we are one. xxx