Last month, Eaton HK’s art gallery Tomorrow Maybe transformed into Electro-Ceramic Universe, a city where ceramics, electronics, wireless sound waves, light waves, organic and inorganic matter, and human beings cohabit, intersect, and interact. This fictional, tangible city was a collaboration between Hong Kong light artist Amy Chan, sound artist Kin Lam and the talented ceramists of St. James' Creation (SJC), an artistic creative platform for individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder, who came together for this project as part of this year’s UNHEARD Sound and Music Festival.
In Electro-Ceramic Universe, the satellite mini-cities consist of individually shaped ceramics embedded with devices such as radios, speakers, sensors, and lights, that the audience were invited to engage and walk amongst creating an intimate sensory experience. Participating artists included Amy Chan (陳一云), Kin Lam (林建霖), Lai Kin Sang (黎健生), Wong Chun Pong (黃震邦), Wong Lap Kwong (黃立江), and Ying Ti Chien (邢迪健).
After a successful two-week run at Tomorrow Maybe with guided tours and workshops throughout, we sat down with Amy Chan, Kin Lam as well as Kasper from St. James’ Creation to discuss and reflect on the intentions behind the project.
Q: Your work seeks to explore the "musicality, performativity and theatricality" of light—what does this mean to you? How did you come to focus on these elements of light?
Amy Chan: “Musicality, performativity and theatricality” refer to the potentiality of light being an independent non-anthropomorphic performer, with music as models, methods and metaphors, performing alongside the human performers and creators in theatre and installation. The exploration was sparked by the quest to uncover a unique voice and role of light in contemporary performance, drawing inspiration from various theories, notably postdramatic theatre and agential realism.
Q: What is the distinction (if there is any) between sound and music?
Amy Chan: Similar to a lot of other contemporary concepts, the diversified and expanded frameworks of references have troubled the boundaries between sound and music. Yet, perhaps it is more important to look into what these diverse sonic experiences have shed new light to the works, the creators and the audiences in contemporary time instead of defining the distinction.
Q: Did the concept or the work come first, for this "Electro-Ceramic Universe Exhibition"?
Amy: It actually started with an invitation to collaborate with the SJC (St. James’ Creation) ceramists. The concept gradually emerged among all six of us during the several months when we met each other and exchanged our interests in ceramics, sound and light and our feelings of the city.
Q: What was the objective of Electro-Ceramic Universe Exhibition? What do you hope the audience can feel when walking through this universe?
Amy: I hope to invite the audience to spend time to immerse themselves in this universe of ceramics, sound and light, to interact and engage with every moment and experience of listening, lighting and getting in touch the ceramic artworks and the entire environment of Tomorrow Maybe, no matter whether the moment and experience are subtle, prominent, minute or extravagant.
Q: What did you learn from this collaborative process with the ceramists from SJC (Lai Kin Sang 黎健生, Wong Chun Pong 黃震邦, Wong Lap Kwong 黃立江, Ying Ti Chien 邢迪健)? Did you have any interesting discoveries or reflections?
Amy: These SJC ceramists are really creative! They always surprise and inspire me in every aspect.
Q: The artist statement states that "我們邀請觀眾靜聽聲音、沉浸於不同的燈光，與作品互動，重新認識屬於「師傅仔」的故事。" What is the story of 師傅仔?
Amy: Like every one of us, every individual C-Fu-Jai (SJC Ceramist) has his own emotion and experience from every moment of daily life. These are not big stories or stunning narratives but just bits and pieces from everyday life by engaging with different things, people and the surroundings, just like every human being in this city. C-Fu-Jai and we hope to share these subtle yet beautiful stories of our daily lives through ceramics, sound, light and space.
Q: How can we (as art enthusiasts, or art gallery) make the art space more inclusive for people with intellectual disabilities?
Kasper (SJC): We can seek collaborative opportunities to develop inclusive programmes where both artists and audiences of all abilities feel represented. Consider exploring different mediums beyond traditional formats—visual and tactile exhibits may resonate more broadly. Have an open mind when curating shows, as alternative narratives and styles of presentation can help present art in a range that resonates with a more diverse set of experiences. With an evolving approach that welcomes varied contributions and perspectives, we can build an arts community where everyone feels empowered to discover and appreciate creativity.
Q: Please also share more about MusiClay—why did SJC choose clay as the main medium for SJC members to create art with?
Kasper (SJC): Clay is a responsive creative medium that gives feedback no matter how you interact with it. Taking time to quietly connect with the material helps to develop fine motor skills and tactile senses, while ceramics allows for expression and storytelling beyond words. With increasing familiarity, clay becomes a freely accessible medium for self-exploration through creation, with techniques suitable for people of all backgrounds to discover what they can express artistically.
"MusiClay" takes this exploration further by featuring community art experiments that creatively demonstrate the plasticity of ceramics as musical instruments or sound installations, highlighting unusual ways in which clay can be shaped and formed into works that stimulate the senses beyond the visual.
Q: What is a public misconception about people with intellectual disabilities that SJC hopes to change?
Kasper (SJC): Through open dialogue and community engagement, SJC hopes to increase understanding and appreciation of the diverse talents and experiences that people with disabilities can contribute to society. Rather than focusing on past misconceptions, we seek to build connections across all abilities by highlighting what we have in common and empowering everyone to share their unique perspectives, skills, and insights and grow through working together.
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Amy Chan is a light and theatre artist. She delves into the in-betweens of light-music, theatre-installation, and arts-medicine. Notable works include light installation-performance Inter-Face, Things That Talk, Morbid Anatomy, and Memento Mori: Sonata for Light. She is active in cross-disciplinary light collaboration, working with celebrated artists, composers, musicians and companies including Ellen Pau, Kingsley Ng, Simon Wan, Rachel Cheung, Ken Ueno and Hong Kong Dance Company, in various productions such as co-presentation by M+ and Art Basel, M+ commission, New Vision Arts Festival and Tai Kwun Prison Yard Festival among others.
Kin Lam Lam, born in Hong Kong, student of percussion and sound art. In recent years, he has begun to listen by teaching himself to build simple DIY circuitries, and has participated in various projects in different roles, such as recordist, sound designer, performer, educator etc. Kin’s creative inspiration comes from the interference of sound, light, and electricity as well as daily life, and this has resulted in works in the forms of live performance, DIY instrument, sound installation, composition.
St. James’ Creation (SJC) provides a platform for people with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder to create art. It offers opportunities for them to grow in their arts and develop art as their vocations. Our ceramists are named as “C-Fu-Jai” who embrace ideas and creativity. Their artistic talents along with forthright characters made them become the artists or even mentors, more than just the service beneficiaries.
Cheryl Chow
Published:
20 Aug 2024