Sonnet 27, 2014

Hong Kong 2016
Sonnet 27

Chi-Wen Gallery

Video/Film
Single-channel Video, 5120 x 800p HD, Colour, Stereo Sound, 14min 33sec
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Sonnet 27 is inspired by the scientific research regarding the brain's ability to produce the chemicals that bind to the same receptors as does marijuana. These receptors are involved in certain crucial cognitive functions, including our ability to learn, control emotions, and mitigate traumatic memories. The video installation alludes to the pre-historical contact between human and marijuana. Aside from the simulated cave painting and a Neolithic child, the shifting scenery between brain cells and dramatic landscape creates impressions of distant memories and altered streams of consciousness. In addition, Sonnet 27 is a result of a cross-sectorial collaboration. The stereo sound effect is composed by the musician Melody Eötvös, and the microscopic neuron images are captured by scientists Dr. Alex Straiker and Jim Powers.

Jawshing Arthur Liou (b.1968) currently lives and works in Indiana, USA. Liou works with photography, video, and electronic imaging to create video installations depicting nonexistent surreal spaces. Using sources ranging from landscapes to oil paint to the human body, much of Liou’s work is related to Buddhist concepts of impermanence, meditations on nature and spirituality, and coping with the illness of his daughter. Liou’s videos and prints are in numerous public and private collections. He has participated in major international shows such as “State of the Art : Discovering American Art Now” at Minneapolis Institute of Arts (USA, 2016), Sharjah Biennial 12 (2015), SeMA Biennale Mediacity Seoul (2014), “State of the Art : Discovering American Art Now”, Crystal Bridges Museum (USA, 2014) and “TURE COLORS”, the 6th Yebisu International Festival For Art & Alternative Visions, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (2014).