9th UABB " Endless River"

From a sonic perspective, humanity’s occupation of natural resources since the advent of industrialization has become strikingly apparent. The tacit symbiosis between life and its environment often dissolves within the dense fabric of urban populations. Xingyu Li’s practice seeks to consciously reawaken a sense of wonder toward all living things amid the accelerated development of contemporary cities.

In Endless River, Li isolates sounds from different frequency bands within the rainforest and distributes them vertically throughout a cylindrical spatial structure, allowing each sonic element a relatively autonomous space in which to “speak.” Zhu Jianchen constructs an adjacent spatial installation composed of four gene fragments found respectively in insects, birds, mammals, and plants, which are also present in the human body. Audiences are invited to gather within the lower level of the space to experience a “chromosomal bonfire” formed by silicon crystals and light, evoking the auditory modes through which early cave-dwelling humans once transmitted stories.