FLOATING SOUND GALLERY

Vienna

Vivian Li

photo by Aidan McMahon

Vivian Li is a China-born, Tiohtià:ke/Montreal-based multidisciplinary sound artist and composer. Her practice combines analog synthesizers, sound recordings and audio programming through performance, sound design and improvisation. Stemming from an ongoing fascination and exploration with objects and sounds surrounding our daily reality, her works combines sonic elements characteristic of her Chinese upbringing with western music influences. Through sonic textures and pitch-based sounds, she seeks to create immersive and oneiric environments that promote softness, intimacy, and duration, inviting listeners to slow down, listen actively, and seek rest collectively as an act of entertainment. She hosts a monthly radio show ‘Lo Signal’ on Montreal community radio station CKUT 90.3fm. This 2-hours slot serves as a sonic playground, where she plays her ambient scraps, field recordings, drones, sound experiments, and audio diary. As an active performer in the underground music scene, she has played in various events at Société des Arts Technologiques, Sala Rossa, White Wall Studio, Breakglass studio, La lumière collective and Laplante. Her works have been presented in Montreal, Brussels, Karachi, Malmö and Struer.

Memory playback
07:31 (2023)
Prix du public Catégorie A petites formes 2024

This piece explores the potential of sound to preserve and resurrect memories. Unquestionably autobiographical, the recordings within originate from the composer’s personal journey. Within this auditory landscape, fragments of intimacy and souvenirs resurface, albeit in a distorted, almost distant manner, teetering on the brink of utter disintegration. Bits and pieces of memories overlap on each other, creating new imageries and hyper memories.