Larry Shuen is a Hong Kong composer, sound artist, and media artist. Heavily inspired by classical music and composition training, Shuen’s works are often derived from music, sounds, and listening. By seeing music and sound as a point of departure, Shuen expands his artistic practice to encompass interactive programming, video essays, sound art, installations, performances, and media art, through which Shuen expresses his reflective thoughts on life and surroundings.

“Like many others in Hong Kong, I also received music instrument training at a very early age. As I recall, my piano teacher often reminded me to shape the sound with specific gestures, such as slowly and smoothly releasing the hands after pressing the keys on the piano. Although these gestures do not necessarily contribute to the acoustics of the sound (since the piano key is already pressed and released, and therefore the hand gestures in the air have no acoustic effect on the sound), they perhaps articulate the sound perception, making it smoother, sharper, broader, or whatever is intended. Later on, I happened to gain some experience in conducting, and I am enchanted by great conductors’ fine and exquisite gestures. Even though they don’t produce any sounds or have acoustic effects, these gestures project a profound imagination of how a sound should sound like, capturing the essence of the music.”

“Yet, musicians’ gestures are often not artistically addressed in music scores, which primarily focus on the sonic outcome of the gestures, i.e., the music. Perhaps, since working closely with choreographers in recent years, I have started to think about how musicians’ gestures can be decontextualized from their origin (the music/ the music scores) and seen as a potential creative resource that could generate new interpretations and meanings.”

During his residency at iii, he will further delve into his Gesture Studies research and explore ways to extend these ideas into a live performance context, playfully examining the intricate relationship between music, gestures, choreography, performance, visuals, and sounds.

This Residency is supported by Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong.