Shō (portrait) 2020

Sound installation, Florence Lam & Tim Löhde - 5.1 Channel - 21:28 min
AEdT - Düsseldorf

Ju (i), Ju (ii), Ge, Otsu, Ku, Bi, Ichi, Gyo, Bo, Kotsu, Hi.
The eleven standard chords of the Japanese instrument Sho are generated trough the different lengths of its bamboo tubes. With their arrangement and sound they imitate the shape and call of a phoenix, a mythological being, that burns itself and is born again from its ashes. During and after playing, the instrument must be heated over an oven or hot coals.

We synthesized the standard chords of the Sho and arranged them in a structure that is filling the Space with rising and falling sound. An acoustic portrait played via a multi-channel hi-fi system in the cabinet.