“The highest good is like that of water. The goodness of water is that it benefits the ten thousand creatures; yet itself does not scramble, but is content with the places that all men disdain. It is this that makes water so near to the Way.”
Tao Te Ching “Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water.”
“Human nature is like water. It takes the shape of its container.”
By Bruce Lee
By Wallace Stevens
With the theme of “Be Water II,” the 20th Microwave is having its grand opening on 3rd June this year. Revolving around city, technology, and life, Microwave has invited multiple world known artists and scholars to come to Hong Kong with their latest media art works and projects.
Microwave International New Media Arts Festival 2016, follows on the curatorial theme in 2015 – BE WATER Episode I, and carries out the Episode II in 2016 – which serves DATA as ART, as Data is one of the key creative elements nowadays and with the form of fluidity of water. It’s no doubt that water carries the essence of life and nature; which is actually represents the origin of life and when it comes to the spirit of our Chinese Philosophy, it is going to present through the strong crossover behind “Water form” and Digital Technology.
The festival this year comprises a series of exhibitions, artist symposium, film screenings, workshops and outreach educational events that gives audience an experience of being allured by techno-arts and insights of the interaction between human, data and arts and continues to scrutinize the symbolical and metaphorical meanings of water in the spirit of Chinese Philosophy.
A) UNCONFERENCE
27.05.2016 [Fri]
18:30 – 20:30
8/F, Gallery360 and 6/F, Future Cinema Studio,
Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, City University of Hong Kong 18 Tat Hong Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
Unconference aims to present a conference in an non-traditional way, which apart from keynote presentation from each of the speakers, demonstrations and showcase of the “making-of” or “creative progress” of their creation is one of the key elements. Reservation : http://goo.gl/forms/XwEsOIR5lH
Ellen Pearlman (U.S.) Brain Opera
Chris Cheung Hon Him (HK) RadianceScape
Mileece (U.K.)
Considerations and Manifestations of BioData as Sound
B) Festival Grand Opening
03.06.2016 [Fri]
18:30-21:00
Exhibition Hall, Low Block, Hong Kong City Hall
Officiating Guest: Ms Florence HUI, SBS, JP, Under Secretary for Home Affairs
Opening Performance:
Musical Mechanical instruments (MMI) Kimura Masa [Japan]
MMI is a mechanical band, it aims to re-create the euphoria of Music and to re-create the emotional space. MMI’s machines sounds and grooves are produced by immediacy and functionality of the machine itself, which it is very uplifting to us. In order to re- create the emotional space of Music, the music and live performances are presented to bring up the excitements and cheers from the audiences; lighting effect, visual effect, sensory temperature, atmosphere, and so on, all these are the essential triggers for MMI to re-creating the emotional at the moment.
C) Main Exhibition
04.06.2016 [Sat] – 12.06.2016 [Sun]
12:00 – 20:00
Exhibition Hall, Low Block, Hong Kong City Hall
1. Street Ghost (2012 – onging) Paolo Cirio (Italy)
Artist Statement
Life-sized pictures of people found on Google Street View are printed and posted at the same physical locations where they were taken. The posters are printed in color, cut along the outline, and then affixed to the walls of public buildings at the precise spot where they appear in Google Street View. Street Ghosts reveals aesthetic and biopolitical aspects, as well as legal issues concerning privacy and copyright, which can be explored through the artist’s statement and theoretical considerations. The artwork re-contextualized readymade informational material, and reenacted a social conflict: ghostly human bodies appear as casualties of the info-war in the city, a transitory record of collateral damage from the battle between corporations, governments, civilians and algorithms over the control of public and private information.
Artist Biography
Paolo Cirio works with information systems to impact the dynamics of social systems. Cirio’s artworks investigate fields such as privacy, copyright, finance and law affected by communication networks. He shows his conceptual works through prints, installations, videos, online performances and interventions in public spaces.
Video documentation:
2. Transposition (2013)
Annica Cuppetelli (U.S.) and Cristobal Mendoza (U.S./Venezuela)
Artist Statement
Transposition is an audiovisual, interactive, site-specific installation that explores our perception of virtual and physical space. The installation builds upon our previous work with Notional Field by adding an interactive sound component, which was designed in close collaboration with Peter Segerstrom.
Our intention with adding sound to Transposition is to close the gap created by the experience of ‘disembodied embodiment’ that occurs when you interact with these types of work: the body moves, the piece reacts, but there is no actual touch involved in the process. The perception of touch is precipitated by an interactive sound system that reacts to body movements, much like the projection does, which outputs synthetic sounds to physically engage the body and thus to close the perceptual gap between body motion and reaction.
Artist Biography
Annica Cuppetelli and Cristobal Mendoza began collaborating as Cuppetelli and Mendoza in 2010. They create installations and objects that combine physical elements with digital technologies, composing sensual, immersive and dynamic experiences.
Video documentation: https://vimeo.com/65693075
Microwave International New Media Arts Festival 2016, details: http://www.microwavefest.net
3. RadianceScape (2016) XCEED (HK)
Artist Statement
RadianceScape 2016 is a data-score installation which the sound and visuals are generated based on the radiation data collected from the Safecast.org – a global sensor network for collecting and sharing radiation measurements. The scanning laser technique is being used to construct the dialogue between the space and the data-visualization; different tonal drone ambience and noises are generated based on the radioactivity. The graphical scores are separated into 2 parts; the first part is to illustrate the zone around Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and the second part is to show the route of Fukushima – to visualize the radiation level from the Fukushima Prefecture to the nuclear power plant.
Artist Biography
XCEED is a new media art collective based in Hong Kong, focusing on digital art installation, spatial experience design and interactive performance. The works has been selected to various international art festivals, screenings, exhibitions and performances, showcased in the countries including Italy, Argentina, Brazil, US and Asian cities. Recent artworks have been selected and commissioned by Hong Kong Heritage Museum and Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei. Latest collaborations work with art organizations including Creative Media Centre, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, ifva, City Contemporary Dance Company, Hong Kong Ballet and more. XCEED is about transcending boundaries and beyond limitations.
Microwave International New Media Arts Festival 2016, details: http://www.microwavefest.net
4. Movement in Void (2013) Bryan Chung (HK)
Artist Statement
“Movement in Void” is my artistic investigation of the brain wave sensing technology, a reflection of my personal yoga, meditation practices, and a tribute to Nam June Paik’s famous artwork – TV Buddha. Through this artwork, I extend the popular notion of embodiment in interactive art, by abandoning all gestural interactions and resorting to pure mental, and meditative activities. The interactive installation engages the participants in constant awareness of their mental activities and which may echo the mindfulness practices in Buddhism. The work also accumulates the brain wave data of all visitors to generate the collective patterns that manifest through the mechanical movement of the reactive environment.
Artist Biography
Bryan Wai-ching CHUNG is an interactive media artist and design consultant. His artworks have been exhibited at the World Wide Video Festival, Multimedia Art Asia Pacific, Stuttgart Film Winter Festival, Microwave International New Media Arts Festival and the China Media Art Festival. In the former Shanghai Expo 2010, he provided interactive design consultancy to various industry leaders in Hong Kong and China. Chung studied computer science in HK, interactive multimedia in London, and software art in Melbourne. He also develops software libraries for the popular open source programming language Processing. He is the author of the book, Multimedia Programming with Pure Data (Packt Publishing, 2013). Currently, he is Assistant Professor in the Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University, where he teaches subjects on interactive arts, computer graphics, and multimedia.
Microwave International New Media Arts Festival 2016, details: http://www.microwavefest.net
5. Musical Mechanical Instruments (2014) Kimura Masa (Japan)
Artist Statement
MMI is a mechanical band, it aims to re-create the euphoria of Music and to re- create the emotional space. MMI’s machines sounds and grooves are produced by immediacy and functionality of the machine itself, which it is very uplifting to us. In order to re-create the emotional space of Music, the music and live performances are presented to bring up the excitements and cheers from the audiences; lighting effect, visual effect, sensory temperature, atmosphere, and so on, all these are the essential triggers for MMI to re-creating the emotional at the moment.
Artist Biography
Born in Tokyo, Japan 1981, graduated in Tama Art University 2004. While in TAU’s Electric Art Lab, he majored in “Peace and ROBOT”. After working as the assistant for “Maywa Denki”, he went solo and established “KIMURA Factory”. He created numbers of Daft Machines, and commences with “KIMURA formula mechanism series” that applies engines and motors, as well as things that others wouldn’t know how to make and order. His works are shown and products are available in both Japan and around the world.
Video documentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLupVVmMvQarwb431WFYPcp- nHQA7CQY2B&v=gXFK8GPxYyY
Microwave International New Media Arts Festival 2016, details: http://www.microwavefest.net
6. Akousmaflore (2007 – Ongoing)
Scenocosme: Gregory Lasserre and Anaïs met den Ancxt (France)
Artist Statement
Akousmaflore is an interactive installation, a small garden composed of living musical plants, which react to gentle contact. Each plant reacts in a different way to contact by producing a specific sound. The plant «language» or song occurs through touch and the close proximity of the spectator. Our invisible electrostatic energy acts on the plant branches and encourages them to react. The plants sing when the audience is touching or stroking lightly them. A plant concert is created.
Artist Biography
Gregory Lasserre and Anaïs met den Ancxt are two artists who work together as a duo under the name Scenocosme. They develop the concept of interactivity in their artworks by using multiple kinds of expression: art, technology, sounds and architecture. They mix art and digital technology in order to find substances of dreams, poetries, sensitivities and delicacies. They also explore invisible relationships with our environment: they can feel energetic variations of living beings. They design interactive artworks, and choreographic collective performances, in which spectators share extraordinary sensory experiences.
Video documentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hae2Fwrqn8
Microwave International New Media Arts Festival 2016, details: http://www.microwavefest.net
Microwave International New Media Arts Festival 2016 Be Water II
Programme Schedule 時間表
|
Programme 節目 |
Venue 地點 |
Date 日期 |
Time 時間 |
|
Unconference |
Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, City University of Hong Kong |
27 May [Fri 五] |
18:30 – 20:30 |
|
Festival Grand Opening 藝術節開幕禮 |
Exhibition Hall, Low Block, Hong Kong City Hall |
03 Jun [Fri 五] |
18:30-21:00 |
|
Main Exhibition 主題展覽 |
Exhibition Hall, Low Block, Hong Kong City Hall |
04 Jun [Sat 六] – 12 Jun [Sun 日] |
12:00-20:00 |
|
Artist Symposium 藝術家講座 |
Exhibition Hall, Low Block, Hong Kong City Hall |
04 Jun [Sat 六] |
14:00-16:30 |
|
Workshop 1: The MMI Performances and behind the scene by KIMURA MASA (Japan) 工作坊 1:機械音樂組 表演的台前與幕後 木村匡孝(日本) |
Exhibition Hall, Low Block, Hong Kong City Hall |
04 Jun [Sat 六] |
17:00-19:00 |
Microwave International New Media Arts Festival 2016, details: http://www.microwavefest.net
Workshop 2: Street Ghost by Paolo Cirio (Italy)
Exhibition Hall, Low Block, Hong Kong City Hall
5 Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong 香港大會堂低座展覽廳
06 Jun [Mon 一]
11:00-18:00
工作坊 2:遊魂
薛理遨(意大利)
Workshop 3:
in Void – mindfulness
practice and the brain
computer interface by
Bryan Chung (Hong
Kong)
工作坊 3:《空.動》
–正念練習與大腦電
腦介面
鍾緯正(香港)
Movement
Exhibition Hall, Low Block, Hong Kong City Hall
5 Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong 香港大會堂低座展覽廳
11 Jun [Sat 六]
14:00-16:00
Project Room 實驗 H 場
Exhibition 展覽
Room D, 8/F, Kwai Bo Industrial Building, No.40 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Wong Chuk Hang
黃竹坑道 40 號貴寶工業大 廈8樓D室
29 May [Sun 日] – 12 Jun [Sun 日] (closed on Mon 星期一休息)
12:00 -20:00
Project Room 實驗 H 場
Floating Projects Spatial pressure Calibration 0.06 -Manual Operation of the Mechanical Landscape
據點空間壓力測試 0.06 – 手動機械風景
Room D, 8/F, Kwai Bo Industrial Building, No.40 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Wong Chuk Hang
黃竹坑道 40 號貴寶工業大 廈8樓D室
11 June [Sat 六]
20:00
Microwave International New Media Arts Festival 2016, details: http://www.microwavefest.net
|
Screening Programme 1: Fiction Narratives selection – Presented in association with the BIO·FICTION Science, Art & Film Festival (Austria) 放映節目(一): BIO· FICTION 科學、藝術電 影節短片精選 |
Cheng Yu Tung Building LT 5, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin 沙田香港中文大學 鄭裕彤樓五號演講廳 |
08 Jun [Wed 三] |
15:00-17:00 |
|
Screening Programme 2: Ultra_vista – Prensented in association with Onedotzero (U.K.) 放映節目(二) : 極端開 展 |
Lecture Hall, Hong Kong Space Museum 香港九龍尖沙咀梳士巴利道 10 號香港太空館演講廳 |
10 Jun [Fri 五] |
19:30-21:30 |
|
Screening Programme 3: Animations selection – Presented in association with the BIO·FICTION Science, Art & Film Festival (Austria) 放映節目(三): BIO· FICTION 科學、藝術電 影節動畫精選 |
Lecture Hall, Hong Kong Space Museum 香港九龍尖沙咀梳士巴利道 10 號香港太空館演講廳 |
11 Jun [Sat 六] |
15:00-17:00 |
|
Screening Programme 4#: ULTRA WATER FLOW – Presented in association with the Photophore (Italy) 放映節目 4:「激流」 |
G/F, Hong Kong Design Institute 知專設計學院地下 新界將軍澳景嶺路 3 號 |
01 Jun [Wed 三] – 13 Jun [Mon 一] |
Loop 循環放映 |
Microwave International New Media Arts Festival 2016, details: http://www.microwavefest.net
|
Screening Programme 5: Films selection – Presented n association with Raw Science Film Festival (U.S.A.) 放映節目(五): Raw Science 電影節短片精選 |
G/F, Hong Kong Design Institute 知專設計學院地下 新界將軍澳景嶺路 3 號 |
14 Jun [Wed 三] – 27 Jun [Mon 一] |
Loop 循環放映 |
Unless specified, all talks, workshops and screenings will be conducted in English.