聲音無處不在，聲音藝術始終難以被定義。鳥因歌而鳴，源自內在的想望，聲音多變因理念與堅持，才能被發掘與被聽見。黎仲民、張靜瑜呈現他們對聲音不同的觀察與研究方向，傳輸交流。Sound is ubiquitous. To produce meaning through/with sound is another issue. Many artists have forged many paths to explore sounds. Like tracing their steps on forking paths, Andio Lai and Annisa Cheung tenaciously follow their desires disregard what answers they may get. The two artists have been selected for Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong’s Sonic Transmission Artist Exchange Program 2019/20.
因歌而鳴 The bird sings, for it has a song
黎仲民｜張靜瑜 : 現在音樂 聲音傳輸雙個展 2019/20
Andio Lai｜Annisa Cheung : Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong / Sonic Transmission 2019/20 Double Solo
2021.01.31 — 2021.02.21 @ Floating Projects
[event post]
策展人敘述 Curatorial Statement [English version after Chinese text]
聲音無處不在。我們很早已接觸與使用聲音，然而越要使其產生意義，越需要認識它的複雜性與多元性。聲音藝術與研究涵蓋諸多類型，藝術家各有對創作或實驗的關注與追尋，聲音藝術始終難以被定義。Joan Walsh Anglund的詩句寫道：「鳥兒鳴唱不是因為知道答案，而是因為有歌要唱。」鳥因歌而鳴，自然的反應並不一定為了一個解答而存在，而是源自內在的想望，同樣的，聲音多變的樣貌因為熱衷者的理念與堅持，才能持續被發掘與被聽見。是次展覽呈現黎仲民、張靜瑜這兩位現在音樂2019/20年度聲音傳輸交流藝術家的計畫，以雙個展形式呈現他們對聲音不同的觀察與研究方向。
黎仲民長期關注媒體技術與歷史，探索發聲載體的形態和效用，並帶入互動設計觀念，討論樂器、聲音、遊戲和人的交互關係。媒體由類比到數位、由機械立體結構到互動介面，黎氏嘗試梳理不同概念，在是次項目中回到「原型」進行討論，這些原型又因跨文化的神話而更豐富。神話故事的神秘感和未知令人著迷，對黎氏而言，聲響與樂器也具有類似的跨文化特質和吸引力，令他感到好奇。是次計畫展示階段性的研究內容，以三個獨特的媒材/神話組合為子題，代表黎氏在製作與研究過程中對樂器與物料的想像：「旋鈕」(Knob) 與梅杜莎 (Medusa)；「按鍵」 (Button) 呼應以西結 (Ezekiel) 異象中布滿眼睛的輪輞；「形」(Form)則以格拉墨之劍(Gram) 的重鑄為喻，我們現今熟悉的樂器是否可能因過去一個不同的契機，而演變成截然不同的樣貌和聲響？理想的樂器是否存在？三組作品結合塑形、聲響與互動的特質，以文獻及圖稿為輔，觀眾將能自由組裝與測試藝術家設計的發聲物件，從塑造的過程體驗聲音並提出反饋。
張靜瑜從演奏與作曲專業，轉向嘗試將聽覺感知視覺化、再現聽覺經驗的過程。起始於藝術家討論音樂與人、與情緒的關係，延伸到生活與記憶、聽覺與身體、頻率與感知等交織的連鎖反應，聲音影響人類的大腦、心智與情緒，或是能引發情緒感染。張氏凝結對事物的疑問與觀察，嘗試由我們能體感的「天氣」為基礎，透過影像、聲音與音樂，測試某種「觸動時刻」的存在，呈現因氣候/氛圍或頻率變化引起的情緒狀態。感官如若有似無的簾幕，聲音則能夠穿透感官、觸發腦海與身體記憶，召喚出情緒與回憶。是次展覽中包含作品裝置與原創樂曲，觀眾能自由聆聽樂曲，把一部分的聲音氛圍帶到日常生活，彷彿藝術家分享的無形日記，等待某日再次被開啟。
無論是聽或聆聽、被動或主動的經驗，人們學習透過聲音辨認環境或特定事物，覺察、定位與建構身邊周遭的實體和虛擬世界。聲音的運用廣泛，但也充滿謎題。如同探究鳥類為何鳴唱一般，科學研究求真的意義並不在於消除我們對神秘感的想像力，因為感性與好奇心始終會推動人類去探查未知的事物。鳥兒仍舊會自然地高聲唱出心中之歌。透過藝術家不同面向的創作與可預期的科技發展，我們期待在不同領域見到更多聲音藝術的呈現。
策展：張瀞尹
The bird sings, for it has a song
Sound is ubiquitous. To produce meaning through/with sound is another issue. To attempt this is to engage with sound’s complexity, and its diversity. Under the banner of sound art, and out of the variety of topics that sound studies have explored, artists have forged many divergent and individualistic paths, while sound art’s definition continues to be held in suspension. In the beautiful words of Joan Walsh Anglund: “A bird does not sing because he has an answer. He sings because he has a song.” Similarly, the sound artists’ forking paths are forged not in service of answers but arise out of desires. It is the faith and tenacity of the explorers that allows new sounds to be found and heard. This duo solo exhibition presents the different research directions and observations in sound by Andio Lai and Annisa Cheung – the artists selected for Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong’s Sonic Transmission Artist Exchange Program 2019/20.
Andio Lai has long been interested in media technology and its history. He explores the form and function of sound emitting objects. This exploration is further enriched by concepts in interactive design, as well as discussions pertaining to the relationship between musical instrument, sound, play, and human agents. From analog to digital, from schematic diagrams to interactive interface – this exhibition marks Lai’s attempt in re-organizing these diverse concepts, returning momentarily to the idea of a “prototype,” which is in turn enriched by mythologies across cultures. The mysterious and unknowable qualities of these myths are fascinating for Lai, and he draws a parallel between myths, and sound and musical instruments – for him, they are similarly cross-cultural, a feature that Lai is attracted to and is curious about. His presentation is organized into three sub-sections, each is grounded in a unique mythology-material coupling that represents the artist’s imagination towards the instrument and materials during the process of making and research: Medusa by way of “knobs”; “buttons” in conversation the wheels that are lined with eyes in Ezekiel’s vision of God; and “form” as a metaphor for the Sigurd’s reforged Gram. Could the form and sound of traditional musical instruments, with which we have become only too familiar, turned out differently in an alternate, speculative future? And does an “ideal musical instrument” exist? The three works on display here engage simultaneously with the formal, the auditory, and the interactive. Aided by documents and sketches, the sound objects in this exhibition invite members of the audience to complete the feedback loop through acts of free play.
While Annisa Cheung more often operates as a performer and composer, this exhibition marks Cheung’s experiments in sound-visualization, as a way to make vivid the experience of listening. Cheung’s point of departure is the relationships between music and human emotion: emotion as expressed in lived experiences, memories, and tactility of the body – hearing at the crossroad of vibration and senses. Sound has an effect on the human brain – on the mind, and on our emotions. It can cause emotional contagion. These quotidian observations found their crystallization in the idea of the weather, which Cheung deploys as a theme in this exhibition. Here, through images, sounds, and music, Cheung seeks to test the so-called “affective moment”: the split second when a shift of mood – prompted by atmospheric shifts or changes in frequency – had just occurred. Sound penetrates the translucent curtain that is our senses, to trigger emotions and memories. Cheung’s presentation will feature installations as well as original musical compositions. Members of the audience are prompted to listen to the musical compositions on-site and elsewhere, allowing the music to color the everyday as an “atmosphere”. The music is also likened to an “invisible personal diary” that the artist shared with its audience, awaiting to be accessed anew by the audience someday.
We are always learning to recognize our surroundings and specific things that we come into contact with through sound, perceiving, locating and constructing the physical and virtual world around us – whether it is through hearing or listening, passive or active experiences. Sound is widely used under many circumstances, but it is still dense in puzzles. Just as we investigate the singing bird out of our own curiosity, the goal of scientific research is not to eliminate one’s imagination towards the mysterious. It is sensibility and curiosity that will propel us to move forward. The bird is still belling out its song. Through the diverse creations of artists, and aided by developments in technology, we have reasons to be optimistic about the many possibilities of sound art in various fields.
Curator: Chin-yin Chong
COLLABORATION:
