Four works on a monitor… collage, montage, still and moving. Restless assertions. Inquisitive hypothesis... Please look for them in quiet corners, or follow the soundscape. 動動象。打開動畫。自言自語。若有所失。半夢半醒。
+ + + + The Ventriloquists…Thinking Narratively 《腹語系。微敘思考》 4-19 July 2020 @ Floating Projects | to learn more details about individual sessions of the exhibition, follow the Ventriloquists Series, daily newsletter
Click individual work titles to watch the videos.
Silent Videos, Silently Thinking…
TANG Ho-yan, Titus: The Predator
A story told as an image sequence
The Predator is a story between a little boy and the bears. The bear is always thought of as a furious predator but, in the end, who is the true predator who set up the whole trap? And who is the prey being tricked?
The whole work is made out of a single image. I enrich the vertical thickness of the narrative by zooming out minutely bit by bit. The single picture becomes a story told procedurally. The transitions are designed carefully to achieve a steady horizontal flow, with pacing and atmosphere that sustains the visual journey until the end when the story is made clear.
Madeleine Chan: Dreal
a collage sequence
This is a story compelled by imagination — what do we do when time becomes an exorbitant luxury? I hope to transport viewers into wondering what is going on in the story and the possibilities of stretching the ways to construct reality. I have adopted minimalism in the work, to construct a story with maximized simplicity.
I invite the audience to dream, to take time to stare off, to let time slip away, to enjoy what beauty time brings us. Is it joy or suffering? Is it something to celebrate? Or is it… Along with the process of viewing the video, the story allows them to have a change of perspective and a refreshed view of the spatial dimension of reality — perhaps not only reality that is objectively reflected but also the viewer’s reality. The work’s syuzhet premises on exploring what is potential rather than making a perfect copy of the world. It questions whether there is one stable fabula Is there a “correct” order of the scenes that make up the work? Well, that entirely depends on the viewer.
YAU Chong-hei, Chester: Betrayal
Betrayal is one of the disastrous experiences humans could have encountered and it is sure no one wants to be betrayed. However, in society, we always feel betrayed in many ways. Sometimes, the one who betrayed you could be those close to you. Family, friends or a lover, or whoever you trust, may violate your trust. Anything is impossible.
The artwork is an expression of being betrayed by a lover. The photo sequence uses a first person viewpoint to tell the story, leading the audience to a moment of betrayal. There is no gender description of the betrayed one throughout the sequence. The rhythm of the photo sequence indicates the main character’s mental state. But if a viewer prefers a different viewing experience, he or she may simply pay attention to the details of each photo. Depending on the visitor’s age, gender and career. a very different story is perceived. Is this also betrayal? Nothing is impossible.
Speaking from the books…
YEUNG Sik-chai, Martin: Supernova
a sight-and-sound sequence
“Come here!” he shouted, but it was not loud. Perhaps it is caused by the filters in the gas mask, perhaps it is just that the gunfire has been too loud. It’s easy to get used to bright sunlight, but not what’s within ourselves. This supernova decays but shines vigorously.
Daniella Bilo: (Un)Catharsis
A video on generative actions
This work explores the accumulation of tension with no proper release. The fall of the wooden blocks does not mean that the tension built up has been resolved, rather only to seem like it has been. The idea for this work came from a connection between familial relationships and the state of their physical home – how items and belongings are allowed to pile up. It is only when a noticeable mess has been created that we become frustrated and angry. But these frustrations are never discussed, only dealt with in silence and over time, so as to seem put together for the sake of image and ‘peace.’ It is a cycle.
AHN Jihyun, Eden: Life as a Canvas
A thought path as a photo montage sequence
Time, color, and ambiance. These are three aspects that I focused on for this work.
‘Time’ in life always flows forward. There is no way to ‘undo’ or ‘control + z’ in real life. The sequence is unfolded by following the four stages of human life, childhood, adolescence, middle age, and senescence.
How much you see is how much you know.
Color is the key to present the amount of knowledge you have when you see a certain image. We human beings all come from zero. We gain knowledge, information through the experience we have every day. It all sets out from white and when all the experiences are merged and make who you are, the ultimate color becomes black.
From silence to ambiance, and ambiance to silence.
Speaking from aged devices…
Sean Wilhelm Foster Weingarten: Blink
Creating and developing an online personality has become a part of our daily social life. Who we claim to be and who we actually are often differ. Strangely enough it is the exact moment of creating online content where these two opposites inevitably clash. Blink is a work about the wait for a reaction, for validation from the outer world that only emphasizes utter loneliness and ultimately points out the relativity of time, space and the self. “Who are you?“ That is a question that gets asked in a moment supposed to express the utmost confidence in one’s own identity. A lot can happen during that blink of an eye.
YANG Long-lam: The Kids Club
We live in a digital age when most of our information is obtained on the Internet. However, the information we absorb is carefully calculated by sophisticated algorithms. If we keep ignoring this truth and take no action, we will be manipulated unknowingly by the system.
The Kids Club is one of the controversial on YouTube channels classified Elsagate. People take advantage of the algorithm to easily distribute disturbing contents to kids audiences. Its reaches already showed that these contents have permanent negative effects on children.
The narrative structure of this work is symmetrical. Therefore, the audience can start watching at any time point, forward or backward.
For better viewing experiences with your own free manipulation, please visit: https://youtu.be/yfT1z3Ye7Ow
