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Lawrence Lau

Cross-Disciplinary Artist

Lawrence LAU Hiu-Kong (劉曉江) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Hong Kong who specializes in sound, music, audiovisual media, and performance. Having lived in Hong Kong for most of his life, Lawrence incorporates elements of cultural symbolism, Chinese musical languages, and performative improvisation into his electronic dance music. His work often reflects a humorous and ironic perspective, bridging the worlds of clubbing with traditional Chinese rituals and ceremonial music. Lawrence's experimental approach playfully engages with the concepts of scoring and instruction. His instruction-based piece City Bow explores the power and infrastructure of urban landscapes through a musical bow, creating an interactive soundscape as he navigates through cities. Another notable work, Vanishing Continuation, investigates the process of generative score-making as a performance. This piece transcribes traditional notation alongside live video and audio elements, culminating in real-time generated paintings within a four-movement contemporary musical performance. Active in media art exhibitions and festivals, Lawrence develops new approaches to combine music, sound, and technology. His collaborative audiovisual works have been presented at exhibitions, including Artechouse Live (Washington D.C)., Nxt Museum (Amsterdam), Intervals Festivals (Nizhny Novgorod), MUTEK (Japan & Montreal). Lawrence holds a Bachelor of Music degree in composition and electronic music and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Media from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and Hong Kong City University. His artistic practice encompasses sound art, diverse musical styles, theatre sound design, and performance art. Lawrence is currently a lecturer at the University of Hong Kong. Additionally, he is a member of the media art group Pink;Money and .WAV Studio.

Projects

(footage) Beijing - New Year Eve
12:43
(1st cut) Documentation PD Guangzhou
02:03
Vanishing Continuation - Teaser
02:21

Vanishing Continuation - Teaser

Vanishing Continuation is a 4-movement musical composition that explores different ways of capturing the passage of time and presence through mainstream audiovisual records with creative scoring. The project takes inspiration from traditional music scoring, but instead of focusing on traditional scoring language, it uses an archive as the basis for scoring. This results in a live performance where text and action work together through the relationship between the score and the performance. The creation and recording of live performances are used as direct creative tools for the performance. 1. Vibrato Piece Musical composition with traditional notation. 2. Reverse Piece Record the performance of Vibrato Piece I and play it back in reverse as a video score. The performer should mimic the movements seen in the reversed video to create an improvisatory performance. 3. Mixing Piece Record the sound during the performance of Vibrato Piece I & Reverse Piece and play it through (at least) 2 speaker units. Each speaker should have transparent cardboard with inked objects on top, allowing the vibration from the audio playback to move the inked materials and create visual trademarks on the cardboard. 4. Vibrato Piece II Place the cardboard featuring images created by the Mixing Piece on top of the score of Vibrato Piece I to merge the graphics and notation, transforming it into a new score. Credit: Hong Kong New Music Ensemble Violist: William Lane Double Bassist: Simon Hui Osage Gallery Composer: Lau Hiu Kong, Lawrence

Live Electronics

Audiovisual

Installation

Chamber Music

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Project - Join Cage

《Join Cage》 is an art project conceived by Lawrence Lau, focusing on instruction-based works that explore the realm of sound art. This project celebrates the essence of minimalism in artistic creation, requiring virtually no resources or specialized technical skills. By emphasizing simplicity, 《Join Cage》 encourages participants to reevaluate their everyday auditory experiences, transforming ordinary sounds into art. The project draws inspiration from John Cage's avant-garde approach, inviting audiences to engage with sound in novel ways. Through instructions, Lau guides participants to create and perceive sound art using elements from their immediate environment. This approach democratizes art-making and heightens awareness of the sonic landscape that surrounds us daily. "Join Cage" is a testament to Lau's multidisciplinary background, blending his expertise as a composer and sound artist with his interest in interactive and participatory art forms. By removing barriers to entry, the project opens up a world of creative possibilities, encouraging individuals from all walks of life to explore the artistic potential of sound.

《City Bow》 𝟭. Prepare your bow 𝟮. Find an object in public 𝟯. Bow it

《Tab Music》 1. Prepare your computer 2. Open a browser - Limit yourself to a maximum of 5 tabs 3. Access a streaming platform - navigate to any streaming device and start playing audio content 4. Engage with the content - play, mix, and adjust the playback using the platform's available features.

《City, Staying, Sketching》  1. Find an outdoor place in the city 2. Stay quiet for 5 minutes 3. Write down any nouns, verbs, and adjectives related to the experience 4. Arrange them randomly 5. Based on the arranged order, connect them into a poem

Music

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@hiukonglau

Social Media

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