Bourree Lam meets the Chinese artists who got into bed with Tracey Emin.

At 12.58pm on October 25, 1999, Cai Yuan and JJ Xin forever made a name for themselves in the art world. In a stunning, and shocking, debut, the performance art duo jumped on artist Tracey Emin’s bed on display in the Tate Gallery. Emin’s piece, winner of the prestigious Turner prize that year, was – not coincidentally – a symbol of the Young British Artists group.

The ‘incident’ made British news headlines, and transformed the work for any viewer present. During Jump On Tracey Emin’s Bed (1999), Yuan and Xin gleefully bounced on the art work to thunderous post-performance applause, before succumbing to arrest by the museum guards. “[People said] these guys are mad!” says Xin. Regardless of whether it was a spectacle or not, it put the Chinese pair on the map. Ten years on, it’s still the first thing people mention when meeting them.

“Tracey [Emin] was probably surprised, and not happy, because we made a work that was invasive,” reflects Xin. “The point is that our work goes beyond normal practice – so from our point of view, or the public’s point of view, it makes sense.”

Jump on Tracey Emin’s Bed, along with the works the duo have done in the years since, showcases two brave artistic spirits taking a serious critical edge, both theoretically and physically, towards art and various underlying cultural constructs. On the surface it’s fun, witty, anarchic – yet that’s not the complete picture.

“We dare to do this, the things normal artists wouldn’t do,” says the passionate Yuan. “People think we’re anarchists because of our actions and gimmicks, but actually we have much deeper roots in culture and politics. It looks very meaningless, but we’re actually very serious. It’s just opposite. Mad for Real [the duo’s collective] looks at social realities, how ironic the situation, the whole practice, and the establishment are.”

Contemporary art practices and conceptual art have no lack of critics, though those manifesting in reprehensible action are few – because serious consideration tends to deter such possibilities. Mad for Real, on the other hand, seize upon the spontaneity of their artistic inspiration. Piss on Marcel Duchamp’s Urinal (2000), for example, was conceived just a few hours before it was performed, this time at the Tate Modern, where they urinated in Duchamp’s famous 1917 work Fountain.

“It gives a new meaning,” says Yuan. “Duchamp used a readymade, so we can use Duchamp. Why not? Tracey used an existing bed; we can use her bed again. We dare to use it… Normally artists find it easier to use objects in their work, but why not use the work as we have? It totally transforms it; it’s another work. We’ve established another concept.”

Game of Identity marks Mad for Real’s first exhibition in Hong Kong, and for both Yuan and Xin’s cultural context, it almost makes good reverse sense. Both originating from Mainland China, the two attended art schools and have lived in England for over two decades. It’s also somewhat of a retrospective, with video works Piss on Marcel Duchamp’s Urinal and Soya Sauce and Ketchup Fight, photos, paintings, and installations referencing past performances – the variation on medium implicating the duo’s historical narratives.

“Our only intention is to make works of art,” concludes Xin. “For two Chinese artists in the UK, if we’re not making anything they’ll never notice us. We have to make it beyond their thinking.”

Game of Identity is at Tang Contemporary until Aug 15.