When the streets surrounding us are being disassembled and reconstructed and when those familiar to us have become strange and empty, what is left behind in our memories?

The urban landscape in Hong Kong has been rapidly changed in recent years. Many places have gradually lost their original aura and features, and the colour of the soundscape is fading away with the passage of time. In response to the concentration of visual conservation by the public, video artist Rita Hui and sound artist Edwin Lo collaborate in a long-term artistic project — ‘Rabbit Travelogue’. The artists attempt to interpret the theme ‘Travel’ and use video, sound and their own journey in the urban area to express their concern towards the urban space in Hong Kong. With lots of places in Central and Sheung Wan as part of the government redevelopment plan, together with the demolition of Queen’s Pier, ‘Rabbit Travelogue: Central Region’ is derived from ‘Rabbit Travelogue’, aiming to explore, conserve and re-understand the soundscape in Central and Sheung Wan.

Using ‘sound’ as the major medium, the artist collected what he had experienced in Central and Sheung Wan and fading history around the area since 2007 through Soundwalk and Phonography in the previous year. In the performance to be held at HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, the artist will share an abstract re-interpretation of the collected data through live mixing and sound manipulation. Apart from stereo sound, the artist will also use four speakers, in an attempt to fabricate a new spatial experience of the area, and to articulate an alternative sense of sound to the audience.
In order to share the sound explorations with local residents, the collected sound will be recorded into a CD; and the copies will be distributed for free to the public at the performance venue. The CDs will also be distributed in Central and Sheung Wan where the sound was recorded to arouse the public awareness of the relationship between sound and the environment. The project also aims to deepen our understanding of locational soundscape and lead us to re-experience the relation between sound and the user.

Artist Profile

Edwin Lo

Born in 1984. Edwin Lo is a sound artist, sound designer, field recordist and phonographer form Hong Kong graduated from School of Creative Media (SCM), City University of Hong Kong. The early works of the artist where mainly focused on video; after the second year of studying at SCM, he become more concerned about the issue of sound. Through different experiments on sound – whatever in computer or in the recording process – Edwin Lo tries to develop his own philosophy and language on sound and listening: thinking sound as an object of desire, as haunting memories and experiences, articulation of our consciousness and awareness on listening and the evolution of listening. Edwin Lo’s works were published in various places such as Hong Kong (Lona Records), China (Little Sound), Japan (Niko Edition) and Mexico (Mandorla). He is currently producing his new granted project supported by Hong Kong Art Development Council.

For more information about Edwin Lo, please visit: http://rabbit-travelogue.com/fragments

Bjorn Ho
ahshun aka bjornho
Born in 1984.
Studying in School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong.
Childhood in Mong Kok, Growth in West Kowloon, Live in Tai Po.
Sideline for the sound collector.
For more information about Bjorn_Ho, please visit: http://www.myspace.com/ahshunakabjornho