Sound Installations & Environmental Opera
《 剥出的嘘声 》
< Peeling out the Hush Roar >
Chen Shuhe Yue & Noshvia (Xuwei) Wu
2023 Aranya, China
Peeling Out the Hush Roar is a work about women and other marginalized communities. Hush names the familiar gesture of silencing—finger to lips, a command to be quiet—while Roar stands for the voice that breaks through: a shout, a refusal, an eruption. Peeling also holds two meanings: to strip away a surface and expose what is inside, and to tear something away by force. In this piece, both the muted cries of those who are overlooked and the heavy silence of those who cannot speak are pulled into the open—once the coverings are removed, they confront us with a sharp, unmistakable presence.
Performance Clip
(Rendering of the First Phase)
Installation part
Wine Glass Wind Chimes
This installation consists of approximately thirty wine glasses of different shapes and sizes. When the glasses come into contact with one another, they produce a range of pitches. Carefully positioned in space, the glasses are activated by the sea breeze, allowing the wind itself to play them as a resonant instrument.
Sound Material Rack
A rack holding a variety of sound-producing objects, including metal plates, a triangle, bamboo wind chimes, and bells. Audience members are invited to freely interact with these materials and explore their different sonic qualities.
Transparent Water Pool
A three-meter-long transparent pool filled with water by a pump, serving as a cradle for floating glass bottles. In daylight, it functions as a shimmering, reflective vessel; at night, it transforms into a glowing, self-contained world.
Twenty-Five Glass Bottles on the Ground
Twenty-five glass bottles equipped with small automatic motors are distributed across the beach. Each bottle contains different materials, and when the motors are activated, they interact with these contents to produce distinct timbres. Audience members may adjust the motor speeds to alter the sounds.
Wooden Fence
This structure is composed of more than a dozen wooden stakes of varying heights, some of which have acrylic surfaces on their cut ends. At the base of the fence are glass bottles containing slips of paper, along with colored pencils. This area functions as a site for audience participation.
Interactive
Audience members are invited to write or draw anything they wish on slips of paper, place them into the glass bottles beneath the wooden stakes, seal the bottles, and then deposit them into the transparent water pool. During the performance, the performers will randomly select bottles and perform or sing the contents inside.
Performance
As night falls, the performers gradually activate the ground lights and the twenty-five small motors. Against a background of seawater, wind chimes, and the subtle rustling of motors, the soprano begins to select floating glass bottles and improvisationally sing their contents. Another performer simultaneously plays the various sound materials within the installation.
