Rhythms of the interisland

HKU student team led by Otto Heim and supported by Celestial天上 and soundpocket

“Rhythms of the Inter-Island” is designed to draw visitors’ and residents’ attention to often overlooked qualities and dimensions of the relationships that characterize and distinguish life on the islands, by making them accessible to auditory experience, enjoyment, and reflection. The project creates and presents music composed and performed in response to sounds and voices heard and overheard near the sea, to explore and appreciate the vibrancy, fragility, and resilience of the inter-island environment that sustains the culture and identity of islanders.

The series of sound installations is made of found objects spreading found and composed sounds at different points of a public space. As visitors walk pass, they hear sounds arise — result of unseen interactions with the elements or themselves. Sounds echo each other, forming strange, asynchronous melodies, and invite passers-by— suddenly transformed into improvised musicians— to explore an ecosystem of sounds. Calling visitors to “listen otherwise”, by triggering surprise, discovery, curiosity, and reflection, the installation questions our perception and representation of sounds/noise, and brings attention to our kinship with the sea and the wind, two vital and defining elements of island life.