Momentum - 140309

This is the annual exhibition showcasing the artworks performed by the graduates of the Bachelor of Arts in Applied and Media Arts programme offered by SPEED and the Hong Kong Arts School. The word "performed" is used because those are really interactive moving arts, which involve living goldfish and many other works of evolving forms. The presentation I like most is the one showing in the video clip (though it is disoriented). It is an interactive device which consists of three weight-sensitive beakers and several seedlings. When the seedling is placed in the beaker, the Chinese characters 「木」(which means wood or trees) around the containers will rotate or assemble correspondingly. The slender form of the plants and the ethereal dancing movement of the words is just a perfect match. Generally speaking, their design concepts are usually hot social topics, such as environmental issues, consumer-driven journalism etc. One of the work, Taste the food: Taste our family actually reminds me of the project studied by another group in our Visual Culture Theory Course about new concept of "home". I really look forward to presenting our research findings with some new media applications in the next course.

Plastic Planet - 130309

Plastic Planet Modified Toy Orchestra-Hong Kong Live 2009
Date: 13 Mar 2009
Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall

Neither the name nor the poster of this show gave me much hint of what this concert was really about. I just found them absurdly interesting and thought that I would learn something and perhaps I could instruct my students to create their own musical instruments with unwanted toys.

In fact, as a modified toy orchestra, there are really a great lot of different musical toy instruments. The whole idea is original and surprising, thanks to the creator of the Orchestra, Brian Duffy. To be frank, I am not very fond of electronic music, luckily, there are also some "love songs" and tracks which are less disturbing and more humorous, especially with the close-up of the players and the toys, and other funny music videos. My favourite is no doubt the interactive soundscape in which Duffy signaled us to say "Yeah" together at the beginning and later incorporated our recorded sound into their song. A truly amusing show~

The Eighth Bronze Fountain Head

According to The Standard, posted on 13 March, another bronze fountain head (the Dragon) belonging to the set of the 12 zodiac animals was found in the hands of a Taiwan collector. I wonder if it will be any easier for the Chinese government to retrieve it in comparison with the previous two.

I must confess that I am no patriot to China, and I just totally disagree with Mr Cai's tactic. He might have successfully delay the purchase but if what the Chinese government kept arguing about was the immorality of trading a national treasure for money, I just cannot understand how Mr Cai can justify his own act of breaking the rule of auctions as an owner of an auction house himself. Is it moral then? If that is immoral, why did the Chinese government accept the donation of the horse head from Mr Stanley Ho in 2007? The money was also earned by another auction house, was it not?

Besides, the value of antiques (or relics) is ever-changing. How can we measure how much the heads earn their price as a piece in the Summer Palace? And how much they earn as one of Yves Saint Laurent's collections?

Anyway, the whole incident was just an ironic hullaboola. Let's just wait and see what be happen at the end?

Remarks:
I really doubt as to whether he acted merely on behalf of his own will or as assigned by the Central Government. This is not uncommon that the government intervenes in other issues which are against it without revealing itself.

Box of Revelation + Special Performance - 150209

I am still not certain how I should define "New Media Arts", but this is definitely a multimedia plus intermedia project. It is a combination of visual and audio appreciation, and contribution of all live performers and audience and distant participants through Facebook all over the world.

The installation parallels cyber connectivity and sharing with God and religions. It is true that "As we allow it to mediate our most human expressions, we realize we cannot be human without it."

As I first registered my Facebook account two years ago, I was quite addicted to the various applications and the real convenience of contacting friends on the other side of the world. I agree that it is a good way to search old buddies whom we have long lost contact with since the network is so well-built and well-accepted, and to post invitation to multi-recipients. However, I really find it weird to share too much of my feelings in the cyberspace. I believe in no god and I don't know if the internet is really taking up the role of God and can play miracles. Perhaps I am too conservative but I'd definitely prefer to share my true feelings face-to-face with only my friends.

Event: New Media Arts Exhibition Project: Intermedia Experiment at HKAS
Special Performance: Quartet for the End of Time
Date: 15 Feb 2009
Venue: McAulay Studio, HK Arts Centre

Former Central School Envisioning Days - Part I - 280209

As an archi school graduate, I am especially interested in the building structure. From the guided tour, I learnt a lot more about the Central School. The excavated relics are not the highlights, instead the docent told us more about its evolution and the building style of the former police headquarters. Load-bearing walls were used instead of beams and columns, hence the free plan of each unit in the dormitory allowed great flexibility. I admire the open space outside each flat most, it formed a gathering place and enhanced interactions with the neighbours. Not only were the building materials endurable, architects in the past were also aware of self-sustainability, the front and rear balconies together brought about cross ventilation. How come architects nowadays (or perhaps developers) cannot take a better balance between profit-making and eco-protecting?

Kafka's Metamorphosis -220209

Being a great fan of performing arts, I usually watch at least a show or two in Hong Kong Arts Festival. Metaphosis is the first one I watched this year. This is a Vesturport and Lyric Hammersmith production, basing on Franz Kafka's story.

Metaphosis is a truly absurd and disturbing melancholy. It is about a family in which the son is the only breadwinner. One day, the son is transformed into a cockroach. At first, the family try to live with it, but little by little they lose their tolerance and lock him up and mistreat him. It is like a metaphor for what people suddenly feel when someone next to them has changed and is no longer a member of the group.

Throughout the whole drama, there is only a 2-storey house as the set, with the upper level as the bedroom of the son and the ground level as the living and dining room of the family. Though there is not much change of scenes, the aerial aerobatics and the ingenious use of lighting make it really enjoyable. Through bold and strong body languages, the audience is taken back to the most fundamental form of drama to meditate upon the message that Kafka wants to bring us -- about human nature and relationships between people and reactions to extreme circumstances.

I am especially touched by the last scene when the son slowly unwinds himself from a long roll of white cloth down to the living room and finally dies in the dark, while his parents swing the daughter in joy and relief upstairs, accompanied by falling confetti. The contrasting atmosphere further enhances the tragic ending.