Entering Yao Chung-han’s (姚仲涵) exhibition is like being transported into the belly of an alien spacecraft. First, darkness. Then, a blaring sound of static and blinding luminescence. The lights throughout the gallery start dancing to the beat of mixed electronic sounds, bouncing back and forth and then traveling across the room.
This is the inside of An Electronic Monster (光電獸), which invaded Taipei’s Project Fufill Art Space on July 15.
Yao’s beasts are the fruit of his intrigue for deconstructing everyday objects and using parts of them to build something new.
Photo courtesy of Wang Chun Li
Visitors will see in the gallery lamps with circular light bulbs, ceiling lights, a spotlight, a fog machine and a computer that orchestrates their actions. All of this is synced to the soundtrack of reverberating beats composed by Yao.
.Photo courtesy of Project Fulfill Art Space
“I tried different sounds and light patterns inside the gallery to figure out what transmits the best feeling.” he says.
The sounds alternate between high and low-frequency noises, sounds of flickering lights, static, footsteps and metallic scratching. Their vibrations come from the ceiling and bounce off of every wall and corner. Combined with the lights, the result is an entrancing, yet claustrophobic, visual and auditory overload
DANCE OF LIGHT AND SOUND
Photo courtesy of Wang Chun Li
Two monsters make up the regular exhibit. Electronic Monster #2 — Ceiling experiments with the audience’s perception of space through the use of illumination and darkness. A line of light bulbs hangs from the corners of the ceiling and, turning on and off with the music in a hypnotizing choreography.
The computer arranging the performance sits in the middle of the room. A digital clock on its screen counts down the awakening of Electronic Monster #3 — On the Hour.
Every hour, the clock triggers a chain of events. The room becomes eerily quiet and dark. A beam of light in the center of the gallery breaks through the darkness and triggers an explosion of fog that quickly saturates the gallery’s atmosphere.
TAMING THE MONSTERS
Yao is the third component of the exhibit, but visitors will only see him during his Laser Lamp Live Performances — or LLLPs — where he introduces additional objects and elements to further the chaos.
Using a special microphone connected to the lights and a board that controls the sound frequencies, he traces patterns on the ground making the whole installation dance with the vibrations created by each stroke.
The most intriguing part of his performance is the use of a violet laser light. Like the microphone, the beam is also connected to the rest of the installation. Yao interrupts the laser using rapid finger movements resembling those of a concert pianist, and the elements in the room dance to his will.
Yao’s exhibition and live performance are both very immersive experiences. Never had a virtually empty space feel so intense and captivating using only light and sound.
“I want to give life to light.” he says.
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