Korean-influenced calligraphy performance and soundscape:

Ha Chung Gong • Nilan Perera • Sarah Peebles

D E S C R I P T I O N

soundscape and calligraphy performance
Ha Chung Gong • Nilan Perera • Sarah Peebles

Cinnamon Sphere creates cinematic, ritual performance for the eyes and ears. Improvised soundscapes which highlight timbre, cyclical contour and gesture are created with altered electric guitar and effects by Nilan Perera, and with computer-assisted performance and shô (Japanese mouth-organ) by Sarah Peebles. Using this sonic palette, calligrapher Chung Gong Ha creates large-scale abstract ink works, drawing from an inner meditative space and from the interactive, improvised sonic dialogue of the musicians, who in turn interpret a kind of musical score based on Gong’s visual images and his act of creation. Together, they create a space of suspended time, weaving a story which evolves in the moment, leaving a residue of ink, emotion, and memory.

Cinnamon Sphere highlights contemporary culture influenced by Asian tradition, and features artists coming together from a rich variety of backgrounds, whose collective work celebrates a dynamic integration of divergent influences.

Photo: Francesco Gall�

Photo: Francesco Gall�

Photo: Laurence Acland

Artist Chung Gong Ha draws heavily from the traditions and energies of Korean Buddhist and Zen visual art and practice. With roots in the soil of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity in Korea, Ha's past impresses itself upon the calligraphic brush and between the action of the strokes to establish a history that corresponds to the moment. Using meditation as a focal point for his creative process, his expression takes on qualities of ritual, dance, ectasy, and trance. Gong's works are included in the Asian Art Collection of the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Sri Lankan-Canadian musician Nilan Perera is a sonic explorer and improviser whose work expands the language and techniques of experimental electric guitar performance. In his unusual approach to the guitar, Perera utilizes preparations of assorted paraphernalia such as swizzle sticks, paper clips, metal brushes and the like, as well as feedback and a variety of electronic effects. His explorations of sound infuse timbre, melodic gesture and cyclic contour with reminiscences of the blues, Hendrix, Partch, Sri Lankan folk and other musics, drawing on his activities as avant-jazz guitarist, sound explorer and composer.

Electroacoustics by Sarah Peebles focus heavily on sampled sounds which are called forth and manipulated on the fly, using a Macintosh computer running Max, Sample Cell and other programs. She gathers and alters her own sounds, which run the gamut from dust pans, home-made reeds and bullroarers, to hummingbirds, ignited vapors, cicadas and water. Peebles also draws upon the sustained tones of the shô — a free-reed mouth-organ noted for its unique timbre and tendency to 'throw' sound in unexpected ways. Peebles' sound works and compositions often explore alternative performance settings, such as museums, bamboo groves, temples and parks. Uniting her music with diverse arts, she has collaborated with spoken word, dance, video and installation artists, artificial intelligence researchers and other musicians. All bio photos above: Laurence Acland