CHUANZI KATE
HUANG
This is
the only song i can remember March 2019
「梅
花
三
弄 」
A Flow of Guqin with the sound of Chinese ancient music Meihua Sannong(梅花三弄)
Sound installation
Piano,
Calligraphy slide, 50cm*9m
The is a sound installation I made in an exhibition called Laid-back. The work was made based on an existing object (the piano) in the exhibition space.
From my perspective, the old piano on-site gave me a strong sense of "western". At the moment I saw it for the first time, I decided to make something based on it.
I had learned Guqin in China for two years when I was a child. Guqin's notation is unique and extremely hard to remember, which not only shows the notes and rhythm but also represents the specific fingering and string. After many years, all I can remember is the notes of Meihua Sannong, a popular song that every learner learns. I almost forget how to read the notation.
To me, the notation has become a representative of time losing and a sense of estrangement. When a "west-born" instrument sounded an ancient Chinese song, a kind of conflict as well as harmony coexisted. Also, the hybridization of cultures in my body was shown.
Sky-ladder, the famous piece of Cai Guoqiang's works, gives me some inspiration for creating and installing this work.
Cai is an artist who has studied and lived abroad for several decades. He made this work in Quanzhou, his hometown.
The ladder emblemed his dream of connecting with the universe as well as a thread of his experience of life and thoughts in countries. This was not only the fulfillment of Cai's childhood dream but also the modern expression of ancient Chinese fireworks. He pulled the product derived from gunpowder and produced from his ancestor "Alchemy and Longevity" from a long history tunnel. Art and humanities, performance and emotion, ideals and reality were all wrapped together.
