Unit 804, 8/F, Pan Asia Centre, Ngau Tau Kok, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong

 

“What Potions Have I Drunk of Siren Tears”

A+ Contemporary is pleased to announce the upcoming partnership with non-profit organization “Contemporary Musking Hong Kong” in September, where a sound art exchange exhibition curated and organized by Contemporary Musiking will be on view in Shanghai. Curator André Chan introduces the theme What Potions Have I Drunk of Siren Tears, and presents the works of two Hong Kong artists, Alex Yiu and Cheuk Wing Nam. The artists will be present and performing live on the day of reception, September 18th, 2016. The exhibition is on view through October 16th.

The exhibition title What Potions Have I Drunk of Siren Tears originates from a sonnet in Shakespeare’s Sonnets, with its Mandarin literal translation as “how much of witch siren tears have I drunk.” The more prevalent saying of siren is mermaid; in Western mythologies, sirens lure sailors with their enchanting voices to shipwreck, while legends of the East tells of sirens whose tears become pearls. The curator combines mythologies of both cultures to entail the transition of sound art in a contemporary context. Since Clement Greenberg first proposed that art could attain a level of “purity” through self-expression, the creative forms of art had begun to gradually expand. Marcel Duchamp had utilized sound as his artistic form as early as 1913, creating Musical Erratum and other sound pieces. While sounds remain invisible, its image is materialized through the artist’s touch. The exhibition will examine the intrinsic qualities of music and sound and present the audience with sound art as it is transformed into tangible objects.

The two exhibiting artists exemplify the most current directions of sound art in Hong Kong, as an increasing number of sound artists begin to incorporate installation and visual elements before inserting in sounds to expose its social, experimental and critical aspects. Alex Yiu’s work includes various visual forms, including video, editing and animation. He combines sound collages with improvised performance to recreate images of popular music and collective memories; an unsettling ambiance is created through garbled codes, videos jammed with glitches, and noises, exhibiting the various predicaments and social chaos that Hong Kong has been through. Cheuk Wing Nam’s work carries a tone of humor where rejection and contest become imperative elements in her work. Musical instruments like the cello and violin serve as the exterior basis of her installation work while cassette tapes, speakers, amplifiers, and an electronic lever are further installed to encourage the audience’s desire to interact with the installation. Hidden within are micro-controller and an electronic instrument that utter irritating sounds and noises, implying an act of defiance.

Through its creators’ continuous in-depth portrayals and dialectics, the realm of sound art has been broadened, reformed, and has subverted its criticism- sound art has now truly become an extension of art. A+ Contemporary aims to explore the multi-faceted nature of contemporary art with an experimental outlook. The exhibition will present the analogous relationship of space, sound, and installation as the artists lead its listeners to experience the moment as material, politics, society, history, body, and culture intersect.

Curator: Andre Chan
Artist: Cheuk Wing Nam, Alex Yiu
Organizer: Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong
Co-organizer: A+ Contemporary
Duration: Sep. 18-Oct. 16, 2016
Reception: Sep. 18 (Sun.) 4pm (Opening Performance 5pm)
Venue: A+ Contemporary|Room 106, Bldg. 7, 50 Moganshan Road, Shanghai, China
Sponsor: Hong Kong Arts Development Council

http://apluscontemporary.org/aplus/portfolio/what-potions-have-i-drunk-of-siren-tears/?lang=en

A+ Contemporary亞洲當代藝術空間很榮幸地即將於九月與香港的非營利組織現在音樂合作,由現在音樂策劃並於上海進行聲音藝術交流展,策展人陳子澂以《鮫人之淚》為主題,呈現兩位香港藝術家姚少龍與卓穎嵐作品,藝術家將於2016年9月18日蒞臨開幕,並同時帶來現場表演。展期將持續至10月16日。

《鮫人之淚》英文展名為《What Potions Have I Drunk of Siren Tears》,原文出自於《莎士比亞十四行詩集》中的詩文,中譯為「曾喝過幾多賽倫女妖的淚珠」。鮫人與賽倫以較廣為人知的說法為人魚,在西方神話中,賽倫慣以動人的歌聲引誘航海者觸礁;於東方傳說裡,鮫人滴淚成珠。策展人結合東西神話,隱喻聲音藝術在當代中的轉換。從克萊門特•格林伯格(Clement Greenberg)提出藝術透過自我表現而回歸純粹的特質,藝術的創作形式日漸廣泛。而馬塞爾•杜尚(Marcel Duchamp)早已在1913年以聲音為形式,創作了〈音樂勘誤表〉以及其他聲響作品。聲音雖然看不見,但是經過藝術家的創作便能夠將其形象、實體化。本展除了探討音樂與聲音的本質,亦將聲音這門藝術幻化為有形之物,呈現於觀者面前。

本次展出的兩位藝術家,代表了香港聲音藝術的趨勢,愈來愈多聲音藝術家在作品中加入裝置與視覺元素,再以聲音切入並點題其社會性、實驗性與批判性。姚少龍的作品加入許多視覺形式,包含錄像、剪輯與動畫,搭配聲音拼貼與即興演奏,重製膾炙人口的流行音樂與集體記憶的影像,以亂碼、受干擾的錄像與噪音呈現出令人不安的氛圍,表現出香港經各種歷過的困境與社會亂象。卓穎嵐的作品帶有戲謔的風格,排斥與對抗成為她作品不可或缺的要素,外觀以樂器如大提琴與小提琴為裝置基礎,加裝盒式錄音磁帶、揚聲器、擴音器,甚至電動推桿,吸引觀者興起與裝置互動的慾望;在內部則藏以微控制器與電子樂器發出惱人的聲響,暗示著抵抗的行為。

聲音藝術經過創作者不斷地進行深度描摹與辯證傳統,衍伸變革直至顛覆批判,如今聲音已經成為藝術文本之一。A+ Contemporary亞洲當代藝術空間秉持著實驗性的態度,以拓展當代藝術多元面向為出發。本展將呈現空間、聲音與裝置的相對關係,並由藝術家引領聽者感受當下物質、政治、社會、歷史、身體與文化交會的瞬間。

《鮫人之淚》
策展人: 陳子澂
藝術家: 卓穎嵐、姚少龍
主辦單位:現在音樂
協辦單位:A+ Contemporary 亞洲當代藝術空間
展期:Sep. 18-Oct. 16, 2016
開幕:Sep. 18 (Sun.) 4pm(開幕表演5pm)
地點:A+ Contemporary 亞洲當代藝術空間|上海市普陀區莫乾山路50號7號樓106室
贊助單位:香港藝術發展局

http://apluscontemporary.org/aplus/portfolio/%E9%AE%AB%E4%BA%BA%E4%B9%8B%E6%B7%9A/