Group Show, Prosodic grains, By Art Matters, Hangzhou, China，02 November 2024-30 March 2025
- yaoqingmeistudio
- Mar 19
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 17
浮声切响
Prosodic grains
Saturday, 02 November 2024 — Sunday 30 March 2025
Tuesday to Sunday 12:00-20:00 Monday closed
Adress：By Art Matters, 398 Tianmushan Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou, China
中国杭州市西湖区天目山路398号天目里1#天目里美术馆
More information：https://www.byartmatters.com/exhibition/detail?id=12
Yao Qingmei
Prelude to Love
2023
Single-Channel Video, Colour, sound, 11'55"
YAO Qingmei extended an invitation to a retired Chinese female soprano, previously a member of the Liberation Army Cultural Troupe, who now resides in France, to perform the patriotic song I Love You, China. This song was initially featured in the 1979 film Overseas Children海外赤子, a poignant narrative about Chinese Malaysians returning to Hainan Island in China during the “open door” period in the recent Chinese history.
YAO’s video masterfully captures the elegantly attired singer as she takes the stage; a representation of poised grace and anticipation. As the lofty musical prelude commences, the singer summons her emotional depth, poised to deliver the opening note. However, in a startling twist, the artist disrupts her just at this pivotal moment. The music halts abruptly, only to recommence, leading to a repetition of this sequence. The soprano’s demeanor and expression are laden with potent ideology and symbolism. The film places particular emphasis on the palpable tension preceding the performance and its sudden dissipation. Viewers are privy only to her emotional journey and physical adjustments as she oscillates between a state of initial anxiety and subsequent relaxation, highlighting the contrast between these repeated instances.
Yao Qingmei
Invention of a hybrid language
2010
6 printed documents, 5 audio files
Single size 182x257mm, total audio duration 5'29"
I have always wanted to create a kind of universal language combining all existing languages, but which ultimately sounds and looks like none of them. I superimposed the four Chinese tones on the pronunciation of French/English words and then I tried to read a variety of texts, from everyday Chinese and French life. The type of texts chosen included samples from literature, news, politics, advertising, recipes, etc.
“ Bǒnjoŭr ! Bǒ-ònsŏir ! Cŏmmént çă vā ?Jě váis biěn. ĕt toi ? Sòlèil. Lùnè. Cīēl. Píerré. Fěu. Eău. Těrre...”
It could be considered a future European-Chinese language. Yet this language is incomprehensible to European and Chinese people. In this sense, my project is in- deed a clumsy new utopia. This language originates in European fears that the world will be taken over by Chinese. Mocking this fear, I intend to repeat my language non-stop for 24 hours on the radio or over the internet. (This could be considered a latent strategy of ideological invasion).
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