Installation, 13 channel HD video (ProRess422, 1920×1080, 24fps) , 14 channel sound, Printed poem, dimensions and time duration variable, 2018
15 December 2018 – 26 January 2019, Empty Gallery , Hong Kong
11 January – 1 March 2020, “Open Possibilities” NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC], Tokyo
6 – 21 December 2019, “Open Possibilities” Japan Creative Center[JCC], Singapore
“The Pearl of Tailorbird” is the multi sound and video installation, production in Hong Kong. The work composed by 14 different bird’s song, and 13 different videos, and a poem. Hayama changes the setup of the exhibition each time according to the ecology of the exhibition space.
In the production process, Rei Hayama slowed down the speed and pitch of the recorded sound of 14 different kinds of birdcall from the bird seen in and around Hong Kong until it becomes her own voice tone. Then, Hayama translated (interpreted) each birdcall into Japanese, which is artist’s own mother language, she memorized and sang each pitch and re-recorded this. The recorded Hayama’s voice was then played back at high speed, this time at a pitch similar to that of a bird’s call. So, in fact, the chirping of Hong Kong birds heard in the exhibition space is not the song of a bird, but a human voice and language.
The reason why there are 14 types of sound and only 13 channels of video is that only the 14th bird, the Chinese hwamei, does not have a corresponding video. Hayama translated the bird’s call into Japanese, “I am afraid at night,” and intentionally did not make a video of it.
Through the nonexistent images of “The Tailor’s Pearl” and the unexplained message hidden in the fake birdcall, Hayama advances an interpretation of human fallibility and multiplicity of realities.
Photo Credit:
Michael Yu © Empty Gallery 2018
Installation view of the exhibition “Open Possibilities: There is not only one neat way to imagine our futures,” 2019, Japan Creative Center[JCC], Singapore
Installation view of the exhibition “Open Possibilities: There is not only one neat way to imagine our futures,” 2020, NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC] Tokyo
KIOKU Keizo © Rei Hayama, NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC] 2020