“Ode to sound” project 3 was presented by Li Jianhong during his residny in Hangzhou, Zhejiang and related audio and document works were exhibited in PARC Hangzhou from November 17th to December 11th, 2023.
That Briefly Lingered Gray ButterflyLI JianhongEnvironment improvisation, The back slope of “Faxi” temple, 2023.11.14
It seems reasonable to choose to do this environment improvisation at the “Faxi” temple. This, to me, is not exactly a religious place. That was true then, and it is true now. When I recall “Faxi” temple, or talk to people about it, in fact, it is more like some fragments scattering in the memory. Those night trips with friends—the temple was open to the public back then. The night tour of “Faxi” temple is a very comfortable thing, walking along the mountain road in a summer night, with the sound of insects and water, the occasional wind over the treetops, the moonlight and starlight. Besides, the vegetarian food of “Faxi” temple was excellent, which was cheap and delicious. I especially remember the stewed tofu with celery cabbage. But it was embarrassing if you didn’t finish up all the food in the plate, even if you weren’t scolded by the cafeteria supervisor. Spring and summer seasons on the side of streams, and the millipede crawling all over the ground after the rain, are all memories.
Of course, it is impossible not to mention the unexpected mountain rain nearly 20 years ago. On that day, I had conceived the idea of environment improvisation at the “Faxi” temple.
As I stood on the hillside outside the temple walls again, looking across at the towering peaks – the sight of the rain pouring down the forest was still clear. But I’m not here to review.
Certain memories always remain desolated—it will only emerge in a certain place, at a certain moment. But it’s unspeakable and unsharable. Some memories of me and the “Faxi” temple is like this.
Environment is constantly changing, and I’m not the same person I was 20 years ago. Standing here again, it even felt a little strange.
So, it is impossible that even if I want to deliberately pursue an environment in my previous feelings for myself. what I understand is that you can anticipate, but you never expect the occurance of environment improvisation. During the recording, there was no “beautiful” chanting as expected, no sound of rain, or even no sound of a temple bell. You know, at this moment of time, this is the case with the temple and me. Just press the record button. Frankly, I’m a little skeptical of the necessity of this environment improvisation—wouldn’t it be better to keep that part of the memory permanently out of sight and out of hearing of others?
Of course, that’s not up to us right now. Indeed, it was also the first time that I had finally left a trace of the long-cherished “Faxi” temple in my heart.
— Li Jianhong
In this regard, the curator Adel Jing Wang described in her book “Sound and Affect” : “Listening to the rain is a very common thing in daily life. But in LI Jianhong’s experience of listening to rain, what is unusual is the relationship formed between the sound of rain and the listener, the listener here, especially the listener’s body in that unique space and time. Imagine that the ears become all over the place and that falling asleep is the body’s immediate response. It seems that LI Jianhong is not only listening to the rain, but also feeling into the rain with his body. When he is asleep, his body opens to a virtual sound domain in which the sounds of rain, chanting from the temple, and echoes from the mountain are mixed together. The air of his body flows and expands, vibrating in the sound of the universe.”
In the exhibition part of “Ode to sound” project, whether it is environment improvisation of “Farewell, Memories,” or “That Briefly Lingered Gray Butterfly;” Whether through visual objects or auditory materials, LI Jianhong’s artistic presentation often has a strong cross-media, non-performativity and primitive spirit of “shanshui“. The relation between me and the environment is in flux. From this relation, the artist flexibly chooses the most suitable expression mode for the current environment, generates from the inside and stretches to the outside, and finally reaches a high degree of tacit resonance with the outside world in spirit.
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