8 Sep 2018 |
Ashley
I have always loved this hidden gem in Hong Kong. It is indeed a wonderful place that brings thrill to not only the viewers that step foot on this place, but also the local art scene. What will meet you when the lift doors open is darkness, complete darkness. You will have to very discreetly step into the darkness, grope in the pit for some time, then you will find a doorbell. Press it. The door will open for you, leading you to a short passage of chilly cold black walls with maybe faint light at a corner of your eye that takes you to some smoke swirling upwards. What you will also notice is the continuous electronic sound that hums under this gallery's breathe. One could imagine this being an embodiment of the "Dreamhouse" project initiated by minimalist composer La Monte Young and light designer Marian Zazeela in New York in the 1960s.
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| Image: Lightbox projection by Hennix @Empty Gallery |
Indeed, the exhibition that took place at the Empty Gallery, "Thresholds of Perception", showcased visual works by a Swedish avant-garde composer, poet, mathematician, and visual artist Catherine Christer Hennix. She is friends with Young and Zazeela, thus is unsurprisingly inspired by their work such as "Dreamhouse" which combines continuous electronic sound and neon light installations as an environment that encourages interaction with viewers. On 1 September 2018, the upper floor of the gallery has transformed into a performance space, in which Hennix's band Chora(s)san Time-Court Mirage performed. Having walked through the entrance and walls of luminous blue spirals, installations that dealt with tuned waveforms, which took up one half of the room, I found myself sitting on a thin mat that spread across the other half of the room. On our right was a large slow-moving projection that showed a series of blue light-boxes. Together they were shaped like two ovals. If you stared at them, you could almost imagine a pair of eyes creeping up on you.
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| Image: Reception @Empty Gallery |
Before the musicians came on, we were told not to clap. I knew later that clapping sounds would only be noises that destroy the harmony of an almost sacred experience. After a long wait, the band settled at their positions. Hennix and Chinook Szlavnics (voice) squatting all the way, Amir ElSaffar, Hilary Jeffery, Paul Schwingenschlögl (brass) on chairs, and Andre Bartetzki (electronics) sitting on our left behind sound panels. You could only very faintly see them in that mystic blue light. But I could imagine them not needing an identity, rather being an environment, and us audience being that as well but as a reaction. I felt we were equal. What set the tone was voice. Raw and stable, we heard "ahhhhh" throughout which really became repetitive as the performance went on, thus inevitably put you in a meditative state. This resembles Hindustani classical music, understandably having Hennix as Hindustani musician Pandit Pran Nath's disciple. Soon, instruments joined in, giving us a bit of jazz vibe, but not excessively.
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| Image: "Stage" @Empty Gallery |
I observed the audience. More and more people were lying down. More and more of them flew away. I wanted to move along to the sustainability of such sounds, but was restricted due to the "culture" that the people around me had created in that short period of time in that little space. One of the purposes of minimal music is to create phenomena by improvisational interaction between the environment and viewers. Still, I enjoyed the performance. It was not like any sort of performance you would see at a grand hall. It was an experience, like any other events or exhibitions that Empty Gallery holds, and this is exactly what makes every visit an unforgettable one.
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