Murmuring in a Glass Tube

EVENT DESCRIPTION

I close my eyes and take a breath; murmurs levitate within the depths of my body. The world outside the room is beaming with light. Air rushes into my hollow body—nearly rupturing my skin as if it is the surface of a soap bubble.

In his book “The Poetics of Space”, French philosopher Gaston Bachelard examines the house as an analogy to the human soul, maintaining that we can learn to abide within ourselves by remembering the houses in which we have found shelter, because houses “are in us as much as we are in them”. In her first solo exhibition “Murmuring in a Glass Tube”, artist Connie Lo imagines the body as a room as she presents a series of prints, sounds and three-dimensional works to depict the bodily abyss.

People often take listening for granted, but in a bustling city like ours, have we ever listened to ourselves? In works “In the Absence of…” and “In a Corner of My Room”, Connie regards the body as a sonic receptacle, and utilises sounds, materials, lights and shadows to construct a soundscape of the body. Sonic expressions are not merely an intimate reflection of the artist’s own experience, but also a reaction to her immediate surroundings. As we encounter these works, we constantly oscillate between the external and internal. Ambiguity looms while sounds reverberate in a hyphenated room.

Connie Lo’s art practice revolves around sonic imagery and the spatial contours of sound. With printmaking artworks “Untitled” and “Sound on Paper I & II”, as well as the sound art piece “Sounds Jotting”, she unfolds an experiment that connects visuals, space and sounds. Listening becomes an act of visualisation whereas seeing triggers our echoic memory. Murmurs are scattered all across the gallery—there is a chance you will find them in a dim corner or a cocoon of sounds.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Connie Lo graduated from the Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art) programme co-presented by RMIT University and Hong Kong Art School in 2015. She subsequently completed a Masters of Arts (Fine Arts) degree at the University of Leeds in 2018. Connie creates interdisciplinary art that explores how visuals and space elicit auditory responses, and the subtle relationship between our spatial, visual and auditory senses. Her practice springs from her personal life, and extends to the relationship between the individual and the outside world. While she often draws inspiration from intimate experiences, she also invites the public to participate in her artmaking process. Her work has been exhibited in Hong Kong, Japan and the UK.

Launched by Hong Kong Arts Centre in 2020, ‘HKAC CREATORS FOR TOMORROW’ aims to nurture and support Hong Kong emerging artists and curators who attempt to launch professional careers in arts to gain practical experiences through programme planning, creation, and execution. The scheme accepts proposals for solo exhibitions or themed group exhibitions of various contemporary art forms and disciplines (Visual Art, New Media Art, Comic Art, Sound Art and Cross-disciplinary Arts) to be held at the Diana Cheung Experimental Gallery (3F, HKAC).