路过全球人口密度最高的香港旺角西洋菜南街行人专用区-ifva

路过全球人口密度最高的香港旺角西洋菜南街行人专用区-ifva 計劃書 Proposal 《不保留:卡拉OK合唱團》 Unreserved: Karaoke as Choir 黃宇軒、林志輝 Sampson Wong, Jason Lam 甲. 作品背景 即使是無神論者,路過全球人口密度最高的香港旺角西洋菜南街行人專用區,聽到與那空間全然不協調而不斷重複的歌聲,都會留下深刻印象。說的是一位坐在輪椅上的老人,自從約五年前起,他孤獨而不間斷地每天在同一位置演唱基督教樂曲,尤其讓人記得的是近乎五音不全的一首《愛是不保留》。 今天,資本累積與商品早就取代宗教成為大多數人安身立命的依據,在香港這晚期資本主義城市中最擁抱消費的街道上,日復日出演宗教性飽和的訊息,是何其矛盾而怪異的一幕:簡言之,他像是格格不入的現代西西弗斯,在意義不明的狀態下維持一種大多數人無法明瞭的堅持。受這一幕吸引,此作品就是為了思索這一幕的意義,以及透過作品讓大眾與那歌者互動。 有趣的是,有別於其他街頭表演者,這位老人並不打算藉表演賺取金錢和將自身轉化成奇觀(spectacle),是故他表演的獨特性在於其重複。由於表演不服膺於流行與奇觀的邏輯,他跟前幾乎從沒有駐足停留觀賞的觀眾。這種邊緣性與孤獨讓人印象深刻,也呼應著宗教性(religiosity) 在世俗社會的邊緣地位。近年都市研究每有探討各地城市冒現的後世俗空間(post-secular urban space),指出宗教如何重佔城市生活。在香港談論後世俗空間好像並不切合,但西洋菜南街一幕正好讓人留意到被忽略的聲音。 本作品希望將所有參與者轉化為這位歌者的觀眾,讓他們彼此互動。它不僅要讓 參與者凝視,也讓參與者透過大眾最常在公共「展演親密」(performing intimacy) 的方式—卡拉OK—與歌者合唱一遍《愛是不保留》。往後每一位參與者的歌聲 都會累積而上,加叠在合唱的歌聲中,最終形成仿似烏合之眾的大合唱。這大合 唱最終將被帶回旺角西洋菜南街,在歌者演唱時播放出來;借助每個個人獨唱的 中介,組成帶回街道的共同體,與歌者來一場本來不可能的大合唱。這將是一次 關聯式美學(relational aesthetics)的嘗試。 A. Context Even if you are a atheist, when you walked by the pedestrian area at Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Mong Kok – with the highest pedestrian density in the world – you will be strike by the repeating singing that is utterly in discordance with the environment. An old and lonesome man on a wheelchair have been regularly singing the same song relating to Christianity since about five years ago. He has been staying in the same location almost every night, and it is widely remembered that the singing of “Love Unreserved” have been around for years in Mong Kok. Although it isn?t a particularly enjoyable voice, it has become a widely shared memory for pedestrians, and the song itself has become a quasi pop song. Today capital accumulation and commodities have replaced religion as the source of ultimate meanings of life, the day to day performance saturated with religious messages can only be a paradoxical and strange scene, especially on a street uncompromisingly embraced consumerism and in a late-capitalist city. The act itself is so ambiguous that not many could understand the performer?s persistence, as if he is the modern Sisyphus. Attracted to the performer and the scene, the proposed artwork attempts to think through the meaning of the performance, and it seeks to allow the mass to interact with the performer. Contrary to other street performers, the old man does not perform to beg for money nor turn his singing into a spectacle. The singular characteristic of his performance is its repetition. As he does not confirm to the popular logic of the spectacle, audience is often absence, no one would stay in front of him to appreciate the singing. His marginality and solitude in this sense are remarkable, and it recalls how marginal religiosity is in a secular society. In recent years, there is a discussion on the emergence of post-secular urban space in urban studies, it points out how religiosity has reoccupied cities in the world. It seems that the theoretical discussion does not suit Hong Kong well, however the performing scene mentioned above is exactly an example for us to look at the neglected post-secular elements in urban space. The artwork intends to transform all participants into the audience of the performer in Sai Yeung Choi Street South, it will allow the participants to interact with him. It does not only force the participants to gaze at him, but allow them to sing the song „Love Unreserved? with him. They will do so by a mechanism through which people today are most willing to „perform intimacy? in the public: singing karaoke. The voice of everyone who joins the karaoke will be recorded and all the voices will be accumulated and overlapped to form a choir performing the song. The Choir will be brought back to Sai Yeung Choi Street South and „perform? together with the old man. The proposed artwork will form an intermediary between the old man and every individual „karaok-er?, so as to allow the formation of an impossible community on the street and birth of a Choir. It will be an attempt to explore the meanings of relational aesthetics. 乙. 作品實際簡介 1. 參與者將單獨進入一漆黑的房間中,內裡投影著上述那位歌者在街上演唱的 畫面,此時房間不會有聲音播出。 2. 畫面顯示著「已參與合唱人數」,參與者可按身旁的「按鈕A」,聽一遍已累 積起來的合唱歌聲。房間內將聽到大合唱版的《愛是不保留》。 3. 參與者亦可按身旁的「按鈕B」,參與大合唱。此時投影的畫面會播出製作成 卡拉OK版本的歌者演唱畫面,參與者可用身旁的麥克風,伴隨畫面上的歌 詞和著大合唱唱一遍。 4. 參與者的歌聲將被錄下,本作品的系統將把該段歌聲加進大合唱之中。隨著 參與者人次愈多,歌聲不斷重叠加起,組成一直演變的合唱聲音。 5. 作品結束展示後,最終的大合唱聲帶將被帶到旺角西洋菜南街行人專用區, 在歌者親身演唱時播放出來,並將此聲帶送給歌者。 B. Work description 1. Participant will enter a silent room with dim light, video with the old man performing the song will be projected onto the wall. 2. The video shows the number of previous participants who have „joined the choir?, while the participants could press „button A? to listen to the singing with the accumulated voices. 3. Participants could press „button B? to participate in the choir, the projected video will turn into a karaoke version of the video, participants could then look at the lyrics and sing with the microphone (accompanied by the existing version of the song). 4. The voice of the participant will be recorded; the artwork?s system would remix and overlap the voice with the existing version. As the participants increase, the number of tracks overlapped will increase and a changing choir will be formed. 5. When the work stop being displayed, the final track of singing will be brought to the street. The choir?s voices will be played when the old man perform the same song, and the track will be dedicated to the old man.