16th SAR International Conference on Artistic Research

7, 8 and 9 May 2025

University of Porto, Portugal

Artistic Interpretation of Incense Burning: a Medium for Cultural Continuity in Hong Kong

Cheng Yang, Ryo Ikeshiro 
 
Thursday, May 8, 2025 - 11:30
20 min Presentation + 20 min Discussion
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Room:

Recording sound is a crucial approach within the ethnographic practice to comprehend and archive incense use in contemporary Hong Kong society. The most common form uses burning incense products as a medium to establish communication between humans and deities, current generations and ancestors. The sonic environment in the context of burning incense embodies our connectivity with the natural world, which we perceive, recognize, and immerse in traditional festival activities. Such sounds narrate the spiritual communion inheritance for thousands of years and arouse the sense of belonging nurtured by Chinese culture. However, there are several challenges to inheriting customs in Hong Kong: insufficient successors, manpower and funds to conduct and advertise festive activities, the inheritance of physical and spiritual is not equivalent; When traditional festivals and temples alter to be more tourist-oriented, weighing the experience of residents and the satisfaction of tourists becomes dualistic.

In this presentation, I will begin by introducing the history of incense use in China, and then explore how the creative expression of soundscape can enhance human-nature connectivity. The unconventional sound map can be an engaging, experimental and alternative way of articulating incense cultural heritage. Within this arts-based research, I conducted fieldwork on several festivals involving incense burning over a year in Hong Kong, which produced mixed-media installations that prompted the public to sense our resonance with nature, history and community. The significance of archiving and presenting incense burning stems from the possibility of experiencing the cultural transformation and integration of the festivals through this enduring act. Furthermore, it encourages new efforts to maintain the continuity of core spiritual and cultural values.

Cheng Yang

City University of Hong Kong


Cheng Yang is an artist, researcher and a PhD candidate at the City University of Hong Kong. Her artwork involves interdisciplinary art, media art and sound art, exploring the symbiosis of humans, nature and culture. In 2024, she held two solo exhibitions in Hong Kong.

Ryo Ikeshiro

City University of Hong Kong

 

Ryo Ikeshiro is an artist, musician and researcher whose work explores the possibilities of meaning and context presented through sound and its materiality in digital audio and audio technologies. He is an Assistant Professor at the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong.