SHIZUKU Drop

SHIZUKU Drop Series – Performance Installation

Collaboration with Takami & Mobu Dance Group & Sound Artist Jorge Bachmann

The SHIZUKU Drop series brought shimmering lines of suspended glass droplets into San Francisco performance spaces. In collaboration with Takami & Mobu Dance Group, the series took place at Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts (2005) and Project Artaud (2006). For the Jon Sims Center performance, I was nominated for the Isadora Duncan Dance Award in the Visual Design category.

For SHIZUKU Drop III (2006), a six-day performance at Project Artaud’s gallery space, I performed on site, melting glass with a torch from two locations: first from an 11-foot ladder, and then from the very high crane platform, 30 feet above the ground. From the crane, I allowed molten glass droplets to fall and freeze in the air, appearing to glow orange when hot before cooling to transparent forms.

These suspended lines of glass droplets, hair-like and delicate, became part of the stage environment as dancers moved below. The sound of the torch and my collaboration with sound artist Jorge Bachmann became part of the performance, influencing and shaping the choreography in real time.

This immersive installation blurred the line between creation and performance, allowing the audience to witness the live making of glass interact with the dancers, creating a constantly evolving visual and auditory experience.

Photo credit: Derek Chung, David Huang, and myself