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Sound Forms 2021: Present_Present

Venue: McAulay Studio, Hong Kong Arts Centre 
Date: 2021.10.14 - 2021.10.16
Time: 8pm 
Price: Ticket:HK$ 100 (Free seating) Tickets are available at URBTIX. 

 

Physical presence in human interaction has become virtually insignificant in the past 20 months. How is one’s presence perceived in the absence of physical interaction between people? As our memories of a place become obscured with the passage of time, are “we” still truly present in our own memories? Is it possible to recall our memories without altering them permanently? Sound Forms 2021: Present_Present brings together a group of sound artists, performers, composers, poets, photographers and light artists from around the world, as part of an ongoing mission to search for an interpretation of “the present”.

Featuring 12+ groups of artists, the fourth edition of Sound Forms will be held across two spaces: Hong Kong Arts Centre and Tai Kwun Contemporary. On each evening of the two-part festival, two new commissions and premieres of audiovisuals and performances will be presented, followed by an artist sharing session. From video art capturing objects that hold our memories, to a sound/light performance featuring bespoke lanterns thematizing ephemerality, Sound Forms 2021: Present_Present invites artists to ponder on their intangible and evolving recollections of “a place”, and the significance of home, roots, distance and location in their works.

 

Sound Forms 2021: Present_Present @ Hong Kong Arts Centre
14/10 8pm     Programme 1: Chik Chi Him and Brian Chu*
15/10 8pm     Programme 2: Chaos Hands and Lawrence Lau*
16/10 8pm     Programme 3: Jess Tsang and Stephanie Teng*

*with post-performance discussion

Tickets are available at URBTIX.


Programme 1: Chik Chi Him and Brian Chu
14/10 8pm*     
*with post-performance discussion
 
Sound Forms prog 1
 
Biography:
Oscillating between various disciplines of performance, free improvisation and composition, Chi Him Chik expands the spectrum of performance practices from the acoustic instrument of saxophone to megaphone, screaming, computer music, audio-visuals, and music theatre.
Chi Him is the first saxophonist from Hong Kong to reach the penultimate round of the Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition, and has made appearances as an artist and performer in various festivals and prestigious venues, including Taktlos Festival, Darmstadt Summer Course, Stuttgart Filmwinter Festival, and the Theater Basel. As an advocate of new music, he is also responsible for the premieres of more than 20 works by contemporary composers with diverse cultural backgrounds, including Fred Frith, Chen-Yi, Narong Prangcharoen, and more.
Inspired by the New York downtown scene and the Japan noise music scene, Chi Him is currently focusing on opening up his own works to contemporary art and collaboration practice.
For more information, please visit: www.chihimchik.com
 
Night
Brian will play a solo live set with drums, gongs, objects and noise. Presenting us his thoughts and emotions associated with night, possibilities and darkness.
 
Biography:
Brian Chu (龢wo4)
Brian's practice involves the use of percussive instruments, the manipulation of cassette feedback and the use of various found objects for the experimental purposes of exploring their sonorous properties. His practice premised upon attentiveness to the echoes that resound from the surfaces of daily living, the sonic relationships between everyday objects and an inclination towards the rhythms that they happen to produce. Percussion is his visceral response to all of these. By performing under the name: 龢wo4, he explores a language in which 'I' can inhabit and articulate a form of speaking that is his own in an unique soundscape.
In 2018, Brian was one of the artists selected for the Soundpocket artist supporting program. He participated and performed in the KLEX festival in Malaysia, 2019. Upon return from the festival, 2020 saw the recording and self-release of his first record 'Spiral'.
 

Programme 2: Chaos Hands and Lawrence Lau
15/10 8pm*     
*with post-performance discussion
 
Sometimes it's nice to lean on "How To" guides to trust we will learn necessary coping skills.
For instance,
How To Know How Tall You Are:
1. Do you look up to people?
2. Can you hear others when they share?
3. Have you noticed the sun today?

Or
How To Know What Kind of Fish You Are:
1. When swimming upstream, what speed do you swim in relation to your other fish friends?
2. Do you move closer or farther from the surface when a wave comes your way?
3. Can you recall where you found food yesterday?

If we had a "How To" guide for this last year, we may have learned how to capture, how to acknowledge, how to process what's been going on. We sometimes wish that was the case. We've come together as Chaos Hands, guide-less, to create a work that exposes our isolation so we can acknowledge where we are.

We invite you to join our sharing of a new concept we are working on: a film driven by a long form poem, written by Nicole Patrick. The film depicts our current separation and isolation. It is accompanied by music that recalls early synthesizer aesthetics of the late 80s and 90s.
 
Biography:
Chaos Hands is a genre-bending, cross-media, improv trio comprising of: Allison Wright (electronics, AU), Nicole Patrick (drums, USA) & Xuan (visuals, USA). Their work meets at the intersection of acoustic drums, synthesizers and visual projections which interweave the worlds of techno, visual story-telling, and improvisation. There are sometimes tender moments of soothing color and sounds which transform into abrasive strobe-like musical and visual explorations. They lean in to the inherent infiniteness of their mediums and continue to traverse new territories with each work they produce.
https://www.xuanfilms.com/work#/chaoshands/
IG:@chaos.hands_
 
Elemental Practice #2 - Spectators
Elemental Practice #2 - Spectators, which features live performance and live streaming, is an experiment of presenting given situations for different groups of spectators. The performer will perform in a private space with one group of audience. Meanwhile, I will stream the performance, both audio and video, through the internet to another station set up in a public space, on this occasion, Sai Yeung Choi Street in Mong Kok. At the same time, the station's situation in Mong Kok will also be sent back to the private space, McAulay Studio, forming a loop that allows the spectators in different areas to see each other.
Elemental Practice is a series of works that questions different fundamental components and concepts about music or sound through simple experiments and presentations. In Elemental Practice #2, the spectators from different contexts are the subject of the work, presenting a situation that sensing how various audience groups interpret the same sounds or musical contents.
 
Biography:
Lau Hiu Kong, Lawrence is a composer, sound artist based in Hong Kong. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in composition and electronic music and Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Media at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and The Hong Kong City University. His work integrates music composition, live musical performance, audiovisual art, installation, and various possible expressions.
 

Programme 3: Jess Tsang and Stephanie Teng
16/10 8pm*     
*with post-performance discussion
 
quotidian
 
Video art by Jess Tsang ft. Liz Faure, Amy Garapic, and Anna Meadors.
Objects expose our truths. They can hold our memories. They connect us to those who came before us and those who will come after us.
Why are we drawn to certain objects? Wandering through antique stores, certain things call out our names, some cry out louder than others. In many ways, these are fragments of our own identity reaching out to us. I dress, I collect, I hoard, I acquire...because otherwise, how else would I know who I am?
 
Biography:
Jess Tsang is a Brooklyn-based percussionist dedicated to the creation of new interdisciplinary works. Equally fascinated by the worlds of contemporary music, material culture, speech, and gastronomic arts, she views percussion as a flexible field with endless possibilities for intersection.
Jess is a founding member of both guitar and percussion duo party of one and experimental improv trio See You Next Yesterday. She has presented her lecture recital on the history and ideology of incorporating found objects into percussion music at Harvard University and the Transplanted Roots Percussion Symposium in Brisbane. In addition, she is the founder of listenbeer, a series of multi-sensory concert experiences merging craft beer with experimental music. Jess has appeared in performances throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia and was a 2018 Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab Fellow and a 2019 OneBeat Fellow.
 
“The Space Between Us”

Through embodying the dichotomy of darkness and light, this performance will explore the emotional tensions that shape our past, present and future selves. What does it mean to listen to our inner voice? To navigate the discomfort of our deepest fears? How do we understand the narratives we have written, and to find the courage to re-write them over and over again? The present is the constant re-interpretation of the space between our past and future. Between holding on and letting go; action and reaction; we can only touch the edges of the infinite by surrendering our subconscious to the magic of the moment. In the words of William Blake - “To see a World in a Grain of Sand / And a Heaven in a Wild Flower / Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand / And Eternity in an hour.” The audience will be immersed in a sonic and visual journey through time. Traversing emotional planes mirrored by abstract visual forms that represent the emotions that led us to the here and now. With the intention of collective healing through self-exploration - this dialogue between two artists reflecting on the arrival of their present selves - will be an act of contemplative discovery, an ode to The Space Between Us.
 
Biography:
Stephanie Teng is an artist born and raised in Hong Kong with a background in Psychology. Her work is shaped by her fascination with the human condition - she sees photography as a metaphor for life, an infinite cycle of self-exploration. By capturing the subconscious vulnerabilities of the psyche and fleeting moments lost to the effluence of life, her creative approach carries a sensitivity to the many instances we may have missed. Often paired with original poetry, there is an underlying intent of empowerment and therapy in her work.
Past solo shows include: Radical Visibility (2021) commissioned by CHAT; Solace: a dance with the moon (2020) at The Wild Lot; A Window Into Tsuen Wan (2020) commissioned by The Mills; A Body Of Work (2019) at Eaton HK. Group shows include The Heart Seeker (2020) curated by Storyteller HK. Her work has also been featured by Tatler Front and Female, Today At Apple, iWeigh (UK), Shado Mag (UK), The Culturist, PhotogStory, City Magazine, Ariana Life and Madame Figaro HK.
 
Xiaolin
Made in Hong Kong, XIAOLIN 曉霖 is a DJ-producer, record collector, multi-instrumentalist and synth lover with a magnetic sound. Known for her dreamy chords, meticulous sound design and diverse track selection, she takes inspiration from nature, N64 video games and nostalgic sounds from the 80s-90s. Since returning from London 1 year ago, XIAOLIN released an acid-electro debut EP on 宀 with support from DJs such as Roi Perez and Carl Cox, as well as a collaboration with Mr. Ho on 20/20 Vision’s Exit Planet Earth series alongside Carl Finlow and Plant43. She has played at Fabric London and Cafe d’Anvers Antwerp, with mixes featured on NTS, Balamii, Rinse and Block FM Japan. Her party brand HEX咒 currently holds a residency at 宀 club with a monthly radio show on Baihui Radio in China.

 

Tickets are available at URBTIX.

Ticket Price: $100/ $80** /$50***
***50% discount for full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and the minder. Concessionary ticket holders must produce evidence of their identity or age upon admission.
**20% off for HKAC Individual members & HKAC BEE. Discount is only available at the URBTIX Sales Counters, members must present a valid membership card upon purchase.

Package discount:
Audience can enjoy HKD250 for each purchase of Programme 1, Programme 2 and Programme 3 of Sound Forms 2021: Present_Present@Hong Kong Arts Centre.


 
Internet booking: www.urbtix.hk
Credit card telephone booking: 2111 5999
Mobile ticketing app: My URBTIX (Android & iPhone versions)
Ticketing enquiries: 3761 6661 (10:00-20:00 Daily)
Programme enquiries: 2582 0248

 

Co-presenters: Hong Kong Arts Centre & Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong


The following measures will be implemented for screenings, to combat the prevailing threat of Novel Coronavirus:
  • All audience must wear face masks
  • No smoking, eating and drinking. Unauthorised photo-taking, audio and/or video recording is strictly forbidden
  • Staff have the right to deny the admission of any person with temperature higher than 37.5°C
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