Sugar Instrument - Sugar Playground
Wen Chin Fu (2022)
Participatory installation

Materials:
Sugar, wood, 16mm film

Each material has its own hidden secret.
By making, observing and listening, we can find the entrance into this secret.

“In 2015, I started to experiment with the crystallization of sugar, a series of processes that turn white granulated sugar into stone-like substance (a crystallized sugar). During the residency in a former sugar refinery in Qiaotou, Taiwan, I worked with Dutch artist Mariska de Groot, exploring different sizes of the crystallized sugar as well as various making processes. The final result of it came with a specific formula and making process. It can be played as an idiophone instrument, a musical instrument that creates sound primarily by the vibration of the instrument itself, like most percussion instruments. I name this sugar instrument ‘Tang’ (in Chinese, 糖樂器), as ‘Tang’ is the pronunciation of sugar in Chinese.”

Inspired by the playfulness and DIY spirit of Fluxus, ‘Tang’ creates a fun and hands-on experience. It is an instrument that can be played and presented in different ways. In this interactive installation, ‘Tang’ transforms into a playground, the Sugar Playground. Visitors can take part in it by using the sugar stick to delicately play around the instrument. The projection, on the Sugar Playground, is created by Taiwanese artist Li-Chun Tseng. The artist uses an analog film technique to capture images from the crystallization of sugar.

Credits:
Octagon structure :Lin, Shu-Jie
Anaglog film: Tseng, Li-Chun

Sugar playground is part of the exhibition "Sails,Sugar, Silicon 帆、糖、矽“at Siao-Long cultural part,Tainan
Sails, Sugar, Silicon

News and media
video
Video
News