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CARAVANSERAIS

/ kærəˈvænsəˌraɪ /
Research


Project 1
Sonic Ecology
  1. Curatorial Statement
  2. Listening to Ecosystems from Interdisciplinary Perspectives
  3. Music and Activism
  4. The Vigil of Debris
  5. The Recycling Concerto
  6. The Unexpected Guest


Project 2
Music & Moving Image
  1. Curatorial Statement
  2. Water, The First Body
  3. Light in Infinite Darkness
  4. Kyager
  5. The Moments


Project 3
Naamyam Creative Research 
南音創意研究
  1. 策展人的話
  2. 南音的互動
  3. 戲台南音賞析
  4. 南音創意研究〈客途秋恨〉MV創意對談: 許敖山x杜泳
  5. 南音飄揚未定
  6. 香港南音之永劫回歸？
  7. 南音︰起點抑或歸處？──「南音新創作展演」的兩種實驗
  8. 傳統音樂的突破？南音未來之路——「南音研究計劃」


Project 4
Contain
  1. Genesis
  2. This is water
  3. Modul-ation
  4. Often easy, sometimes impossible
  5. Sensations of getting lost





The content of CARAVANSERAIS does not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to CARAVANSERAIS only, but does not otherwise take part in it.  Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the materials/activities (or by members of the GRANTEE’s team) are those of the organisers of CARAVANSERAIS only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Mark

The Vigil of Debris
Sonic Ecology Commission
Video Presentation


Karen Yu
percussionist, experimental sound artist and interdisciplinary arts researcher

中文版本︎




A Waste Discarding Ritual

The Vigil of Debris is an event to “mourn” disposed and forgotten debris that will continue to exist as a reminder of us - a ritual to sensitize ourselves to the daily apathetic act of discarding waste, and a warning to be conscious of our unrealistic perception of recycling non-biodegradable waste. The performer is instructed to collect pieces of waste they produce and transform these items from personal possessions to totems. By re-evaluating these objects as instruments, the player is asked to interpret, explore, and even revere objects they would normally discard. The ritual, as a reflection, demonstrates the significance of the used item through the player’s interpretation of a series of proposed actions. Through realizing the performance on the collected debris and documenting the performer’s daily consumption of the plastic and disposable items, the vigil of debris urges performers and observers alike to rethink the necessity and use of these items, and how to be more thoughtful about not using them, reusing them, and looking for alternatives. 


Project commissioned by Sonic Ecology 2020, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble.  


Direction & Concept: Karen Yu

Performers and Collectors: Lawrence Lau & Samuel Chan

Image: Kenneth Leung

Sound: Amy Chan


Logs of the waste collected: thevigilofdebris.tumblr.com


Ritual One, performed by Lawrence Lau



Ritual Two, performed by Samuel Chan






Biography

Karen Yu (Photo Credit: Nick Trieu)

Percussionist, experimental sound artist and interdisciplinary arts researcher, Karen Yu uses sound-making as a medium to question and subvert the relationship between audience and performer. Constantly in pursuit of new possibilities in the performing arts culture, Yu is interested in curating cross-disciplinary collaborations and performances that weave spaces and people together. Based in Hong Kong, Karen is the Chief Curator of Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong, the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director the chamber percussion group, The Up:Strike Project, and Associate Musician of Hong Kong New Music Ensemble.

As an active interdisciplinary performer, Yu was most recently commissioned by the Axel Vervoordt Gallery Hong Kong for a three-part sound performance at Germaine Kruip’s Solo Exhibition “Screenplay”, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble for a multi-media work, “the vigil of debris”, as part of the Sonic Ecology Digital Conference, and Hong Kong West Kowloon Cultural District Freespace, Creation for Freespace: Choreography and Composer Lab. Previously an artist-in-residence at the Banff Centre of Arts and Creativity and a fellow at the Blackbird Creative Lab, Yu has also performed for Biennale Montreal, Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong Sound Forms Festival, Freespace Jazz Fest, Harvard Graduate Music Forum Conference, Hong Kong Sinfonietta @ Artistree “Notating Beauty That Moves,” Hong Kong Arts Festival, Hong Kong New Vision Arts Festival, IRCAM ManiFeste Academy, Percussive Arts Society Day of Percussion (Hong Kong, Montreal), SoundSCAPE New Music Festival, Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts, and Transplanted Roots Percussion Research Symposiums (Guanajuato, Brisbane, Montreal). Yu has collaborated with a number of artists and musicians, including Jean-Pierre Drouet, Vinko Globokar, Germaine Kruip, Lawrence Lau, Joseph Lee, Philippe Leroux, Gaybird Leung, Daniel Lo, Marina Rosenfeld, Annika Socolofsky, Zihua Tan, Michael Pisaro, and Ken Ueno. Her performances and interviews can be listened to on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Naxos Records, Radio Television Hong Kong, and Sound Method Podcast.

Karen Yu received her Master of Music and Bachelor of Music from McGill University under the guidance of Professor Aiyun Huang and Fabrice Marandola. Her studies at McGill University were fully supported by the Schulich Graduate Fellowship. Her projects have been supported by the Centre of Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, and Hong Kong Home Affairs Bureau.

Aside from making sounds, Karen is a sour beer enthusiast.

Website: www.karenyu.net