Shan Gao Shui Chang
A literal translation of Shan Gao Shui Chang is “Mountain high, water field”. This immersive production features dance, sound, and visual arts and has an all too short season of two nights. I was lucky enough to catch the opening night.
Awarded the Adelaide Fringe Fund, this work returns after its highly acclaimed Melbourne debut.
According to the publicity Shan Gao Shui Chang (山高水长) “Explores the transformation of movement into paint, paper, and sound using conductive paint, contact mics, machine learning, and electronic circuits. By utilising the body's natural conductivity and the sonic potential of everyday objects, the work creates sonic and visual landscapes through movement, offering a visceral experience that embodies the body's metabolism and its deep connection to nature, culture, and society.”
Featuring artist-researchers Weichen Cui (Dance), Haocheng Zhang (Visual Arts), and Monica Lim (Music), Shan Gao Shui Chang is a welcome return to the ‘old days’ of the Fringe when you could see a collection of experimental works.
Upon entering the black box theatre, I was struck by the barrenness of the stage; two expanses of white material running across the stage, a mysterious bump under one piece, an area that looks like a cross between a small table set for a Chinese tea ceremony complete with electric kettle, and a computer station.
Appearances are deceiving, the small table is a musical instrument, is connected to the computer, and produces various sounds when used with the performer’s fingers or a stylus. Even the kettle is ‘wired for sound’ and adds to the complex soundscape.
The visuals are stark. A male performer dressed in black, and a female performer dressed in white. The first section involves the male performer with a large brush and what seems to be water, making patterns around his body on the first piece of material. Amazingly, the water reacts like paint and leaves paint trails rather like the eddies in a river.
In the second section the ‘mysterious bump’ (the female performer) creates mountains that move and eventually emerges from the material. She joins the male performer, and they create a ‘cave’ which is then painted. The wet paint on the roof of the cave is conductive when ‘hooked up’ to the laptop and she is able to create her own sounds.
The last section involves the two performers and the water-wetpaint technique again. Finally, they join the musician at the small table for a tea ceremony.
What is astounding in Shan Gao Shui Chang is the total focus of the musician as she creates the ‘soundscapes’ of the piece. It is a symphony of slow considered sound which perfectly matches the dancer’s movements.
Shan Gao Shui Chang is a fascinating piece of modern theatre that is sure to evoke many questions and leaves the viewer in awe of the performer’s control!
Barry Hill OAM
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