GayBird: Music for 9

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.

Music for 9 Exhibition is part of the The Missing Link series. Curated by Multi-disciplinary Media Artist / HK Composer GayBird and Vanissa Law, The Missing Link consists of three Arts Tech exhibitions, an immersive performance, and a series of open lectures concerning the current issues in the use of technology in arts. By introducing two essential elements in music – timeliness and performative into art forms that have not yet existed, the two composers/curators wish to inspire new creations and to offer new dimensions to existing art forms. Through the creation of multimedia artworks, the artists would explore ways to deploy technology for the sake of storytelling. Along with GayBird, the two participating creators, media artist Kenny Wong and architect Wyan Yeung, explore the possibility of applying timeliness and performative in their works of art.