Truth is never complete. History may rhyme, but it never repeats itself. In this digital age, facts can be destroyed, amplified, or manipulated by viewpoints and perspectives. Reality can be depicted through fragmented facts, while truth can be reduced to individual cases. As we begin to feel numb towards the distortion of reality, can the fragmented present shape an alternative mode of completeness?
Multi-disciplinary Media Artist GayBird’s Music for 9 Exhibition Reintegrating the sound of close-to-completeness
While the number ‘10’ represents completeness in Chinese culture, ‘9’ may sound incomplete because it is ‘1’ short to be considered whole. However, the deficiency of ‘9’ creates possibilities. Avoiding preset ceilings encourages us not to take things for granted. Complex images could be seen on a monitor without a light source; a robotic dog on a leash might still be able to go wherever it could; ‘Ode to Joy’ with no tones might evoke another kind of delight.
The exhibition seeks to arouse interest in sight and hearing, reintegrating the sound of close-to-completeness. A percussion performance gets fragmented, visually and aurally in a video work; Close-ups of body parts are displayed on synchronised screens, while pairing speakers fill the space with gritty sound. The full spectrums of visual and audio are filled with rhythms and melodies built by re-integrated moving images and sound. The aural gradually transits from percussion music to sounds of the city. While the moving images on the screens remain unchanged, the sound gradually dislocates, transporting audiences beyond the walls of the exhibition space to the city soundscape, and discovering the diversity of Art Tech that creates new possibilities for audiences to explore.
Talk #1
“Music for 9 Beyond Music: electronic sound, media installation, and the idea of incompleteness”
Date & Time: 2023.04.30 (Sun) 3pm
Venue: HART Haus, 3/F, 12P Smithfield Road, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong│Free Admission
GayBird will introduce the concept behind media installation Music for 9 and talk about how he applies the idea and theory of music composition into other art forms.
Talk #2
“Create for Screens; Compose with Images”
Date & Time: 2023.05.13 (Sat) 4pm
Venue: HART Haus, 3/F, 12P Smithfield Road, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong│Free Admission
Screens occupy our lives, and we spend nearly every waking moment with them. When screens have become part of our bodies, art and culture would also happen on screens that may no longer be the representation of an era, yet, how does art adapt to this medium?
Venue address: 17/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen's Road Central