Missing links
One such vital yet somewhat incongruous element of the show are six drawings based on his composition. In them, GayBird mixes the symbols of music notation with Braille characters. The idea was to "deconstruct, or disassemble, the standard lexicography of music notation" by separating the notes, beats and slurs and removing the rest symbols from the first five drawings. The introduction of Braille characters underscores, once again, the main theme of rupture and disintegration for "unlike the original Braille alphabet, these drawings are not tactile, and that makes them incomplete, in a sense".
Music for 9 appeals to CityU academic Yip for "its sense of hybridity of form and technical media". "The work is playful, theatrical, musical, sculptural and beyond," he adds. "Also it employs a variety of technical components - video, audio, photography, robotics and drawing."
Yip traces GayBird's love of putting together the unlikeliest of materials and forms to the artist's "curiosity and eagerness to learn new things".
GayBird agrees. His increasing love of AI, which he sees as a useful, practical, tool, grew out of the wish "to learn something new from the technologies I use. That's where my inspiration comes from."
There might be a number of reasons that inspired the tonal shift in Music for 9. It feels more minimal and contemplative compared to GayBird's earlier works evoking a celebratory atmosphere. Its understated, near-monochromatic color palette might have something to do with the time in which it was birthed, in a world still not out of the shadows of the pandemic and one in which the absence of friends who have left the city is deeply felt by those who chose to stay behind.
Yip, however, contends that "underneath the seemingly playful, stylish and sometimes light-hearted presentations, GayBird's works have always been serious". Only that with Music for 9, the artist might have embraced a "cleaner, quieter, more minimal aesthetic". The packaging might have gotten a bit less colorful, but the intent remains constant.
