Concurrent: Tuning Intervals

About

Julia Dèng Hànzú and collaborator Kun Li will perform Con-Current: Tuning Intervals, as part of It All Starts With a Thread, an exhibition opening at Whitechapel Gallery in August. This sonic performance explores the artist’s childhood memories of playing string instruments, and the strong, but sometimes conflicting bilateral relationship she had with her mother as an only-child in a single-parent family. As two performers move across a non-site-specific string instrument, they activate the installation, creating different sonic and visual effects with their actions.

Julia Dèng Hànzú, proudly graduated from MA Design: Expanded Practice at Goldsmiths, University of London, is a multi-media artist/experimental musician who hates to be strictly defined. Born in Chongqing, China, she has had exhibitions and performances across continents in London, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chongqing, Hainan, Berlin, Huddersfield etc.

With mixed educational backgrounds in arts, economics and science subjects, she draws inspiration from different disciplines, personal experiences, both western and eastern cultures. Her works, often adopting an explorative or border-eliminating attitude, include but are not limited to the form of performances, installations, music/sound pieces, moving/still images and texts, while “nature” and “emotion” are recurring themes.

The influence of past traditional Chinese music training can also be seen in many of her practices. Recently, she has been exploring some improvisation/extended techniques of Pipa, Guzheng, Ruan and other plucked string instruments and combining their sonics with field recordings, synths and electronic/interactive systems

It All Starts With a Thread (18th August - 31st December 2023) is an exhibition curated by this year’s cohort of the Whitechapel Gallery and London South Bank University's Masters in Curating Art and Public Programmes, exploring thread as both method and metaphor for connection, collaboration and conversation. Starting with a selection of works by artists who use thread in examining emotions, relationships and social connections, the exhibition is developing through a series of workshops with artists, makers and members of the public. Participants are invited to explore these themes through knitting, stitching and creating together.

For more information about the exhibition, and to follow its progress visit www.instagram.com/itallstartswithathread

Please note that this event will be recorded, and a video produced which will be presented as part of this exhibition. If you have any concerns about this or do not wish to be filmed, please contact the organisers of the event.

Please let us know your accessibility needs ahead of the event, and we will do our best to accommodate.