Final Year Project: 樂 (yuè)
Books can be burnt, words can be forgotten. But these ancient compositions enshrine the eternal search for meaning, in a world that refuses to give up its secrets and mysteries to simplistic explanations. Chinese music embraces the enigma of life, giving expression to intuitive emotions that cannot be expressed by words or captured by technology. It’s only through music that the human spirit rises towards heaven.
Badge of Honour - 榮譽徽章
As a student, these backstage passes become badges of honour, to signify the amount of times they have performed on the grand stage like the Esplanade. And the only way for people to obtain these badges were through a performer status, or a crew member.
飞天(Fēi Tiān)
A mini interactive space to learn about Chinese traditional music. The title of the music 飞天 is directly translated as Flying to Heaven. 飞天 is the god of music in Buddhist culture, and also a symbolism of the god of freedom and happiness. The music piece was portrayed in a way to bring people into the realm of heaven and sky. The music starts off from quiet and graceful to lively and excitement. When it reached the climax, the music depicts the gods from all walks of life coming together and dancing for joy. The end of the music gradually became quiet, depicting the gods dancing happily, and then gradually flew towards the sky. The music lastly ends off with the lingering sound of cloud gongs and the transparent overtones of strings.
Phoenix - 鳳凰
The guqin has been called the “Father of Chinese Music”, and the features of the guqin were said to be made up of a phoenix and a human being. There is a belief that the phoenix represents the balance and harmony in the universe, which is similar to the yin and yang. In the guqin, the top part represents the sky, while the flat bottom represents the earth.
