As part of the third HELL HOT! New Music Festival, 2P Contemporary and Gallery EXIT are pleased to present the on-going project “etude for everyday life” by Osaka-based sound artist, Mamoru Okuno (aka mamoru). A series of portable installations that transform everyday objects and practices into intimate sound experiences will be on view. The exhibition is on view from 4 August to 24 August 2012 at 2P Contemporary, 6 - 20 Po Tuck Str. Sai Ying Pun. The artist will be present at the opening reception Saturday, 4 August 2012 at 6 – 8 pm.

The OED defines “etude” as a short musical composition, typically for one instrument, designed as an exercise to improve the technique or demonstrate the skill of the player. Mamoru uses common objects such as plastic straws, food wrap, ice, steel hanger, instant noodle, electric kettle, and microwave as means to create. The sounds produced by an object’s functional disposition are spotlighted and brought to the fore of our awareness. As sound forms, they are arranged and orchestrated to define a field of contemptible sound whereas the mechanism of sound production further serves as a visual cue to aid heightened listening. These otherwise quotidian sounds, present the opportunity for the viewer cum listener to re-discover the fullness of a sound and the wholeness of sounds, which perhaps, could only be heard through a daily practice of listening.

About Mamoru Okuno

Mamoru Okuno (b.1977 in Osaka, Japan) received a BFA from The City University of New York in 2001. His works have been exhibited in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo (2012), Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei (2011), Aomori Contemporary Art Centre in Aomori (2011), Museum Quartier in Vienna (2009), Nagi Museum of Modern Art in Okayama (2009), De Young Museum in San Francisco (2007) and the National Gallery of Armenia in Yerevan (2006). In 2010, the “etude no.13 hanging ice” won the first prize at the TOKYO EXPERIMENTAL FESTIVAL organized by Tokyo Wonder Site.