THE SOUND OF CHINA – CHINA 2015
A VIDEO INSTALLATION-SHANGYUAN ART MUSEUM, BEIJING, CHINA 2015
BETWEEN NOISE AND SILENT
In the heart of China, where sound weaves through daily life like an unseen current, I found myself immersed in a
world of stark contrasts—an orchestra of relentless noise and quiet souls. Streets pulsed with voices blaring from
loudspeakers, the clatter of old engines, and the sharp cries of tools at work from dawn until night. Amid this
unceasing cacophony, I sought a different kind of sound—one more elusive, intimate, and restrained.
MEASURING SOUND
In my video installation, The Sound of China, I measured not only the sonic landscape but the unspoken, the hushed,
the withheld. I explored sound as an inner voice, a quiet echo of a deeply private culture where emotions seldom rise
to the surface. Living among artists at Shangyuan Art Museum and the surrounding village, I encountered a world
of reserve—little physical contact, few words exchanged about personal feelings, yet all set against a backdrop of
an artistic environment that roared with neo-expressionist fervor.
THE ARTWORK AS MY LENS
Through the lens of my work, I traced these tensions—the muted and the unleashed, the internalized and the overt.
The video follows Chinese artist Ma Xin as she interacts with a ceramic wood installation I placed on the museum’s
highest rooftop. Her presence, her gaze, the movement of her hands—all in dialogue with the shifting sun, the
interplay of light and shadow, and the quiet urgency of time passing.
VIDOINSTALLATION
At the exhibition, the video was projected onto the museum’s façade, merging with its structure, resonating with its
surroundings. A whispered voice in the night, an echo of China—both seen and unseen.
CREW
Videorecorder and photos Seungjae Lee,
Performer Ma Xin,
Muusic Ph.d. Lin Wang
FUNDED BY
THE DANISH ART COUNCIL
THE DANISH CENTRAL BANK ANNIVERSARY FOUNDATION OF 1968
GROSSERER J.L. FOGHTS FOUNDATION
SEE VIDEO Click here
CATALOGUE – click here
The Exhibition – a videoprojection at the outdoor area of Shangyuan Art Museum.
Stills from the video tripartite, part 3- Registrating the rythm of light changing over 12 hours at the outdoor
installation. Photo Sengjae Lee.
Pages from the catalog.
The sitespecific Outdoor installation being part 3 in the Tripartite. Photo Seungjae Lee.
Still from the video showing the tripartitet – the first part showing Maxin playing with woodsticks at the installation.
The tripartite number 2 – Maxin huming a-u-i- and the third part showing how light in another rythme change over time.
Stills from the video tripartite, part 3- Registrating the rythm of light changing over 12 hours at the outdoor
installation. Photo Sengjae Lee.
Still from the video showing the tripartitet – the first part showing Maxin playing with woodsticks at the installation.
The tripartite number 2 – Maxin huming a-u-i- and the third part showing how light in another rythme change over time.
PROCES FROM STUDIO DOING INSTALLATION
I got a workshop – bought tools and materials – working in both plaster, wood and unfired clay.
I bicycled at a too small bicycle exploring the naborhood and trying out installation possibilities.
I did scale models in cardboard before creating plastermodls for creating the clay elements.
Photos Anja
The plaster molds and the clayelements where hardened and dried in the sun. Photos Anja
View from my workshop at the museum. Photo Anja