Tan Bone သံဗုံး (Sound Pot) 

“Tan Bone သံဗုံး (Sound Pot) is a collaborative exhibition project by sound artists Kam Seng Aung, Joshua Weitzel and Sam Tsao. In February 2021, the military in Myanmar seized power and has since been waging a bloody war against its own people. The population protests against the military dictatorship and for the return of democratic government by banging pots and pans. This form of acoustic protest has been used around the world for decades and is also known by the Spanish name "cacerolazo”.

 

Tan Bone (v2) presents five original pots from Myanmar that were used in the protest against the military. The owners of these pots were murdered by the military in the course of the protest. Their names are listed below. The work presents the objects as museum pieces of acoustic protest that tell a tragic story. These pots are contrasted as silenced objects by a stereo loudspeaker installation. An app developed by Sam Tsao provides background information, sounds, and the opportunity to take something of the exhibition home with you and further engage with the topic.”

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Ko Na Pwa (32 years) 

Died after being hit by an unmarked car on February 8 2021 in Mandalay

 

Nay Myo Aung (16 years) 

Shot dead on March 3 2021 in Mandalay

 

Ye Thu Aung (age unknown) 

Shot dead on March 19, 2021, in Aung Ban, Shan State

 

Sheing Naung Naung (19 years) 

Died on April 1 in Yangon after being shot on March 23 2021

Shein Htet Aung (27 years) 

Died from a Grenade on March 27, 2021

Medium

Installation, audio and app

Artists' Bio

Kam Seng Aung

Kam Seng Aung, a native of Bhamaw, Kachin in Myanmar, is a composer, improviser, sound artist and violinist. With his music, he advocated for the international audience in Europe about the impacts of the ongoing civil war on indigenous lives by performing his compositions at music events in Germany. In February, 2018, he performed and presented about the state of music education in IDP camps and since the military coup, he’s organised the ‘Peaceful Musicians’ group to protest in front of Embassies in Myanmar.

 

Joshua Weitzel

Joshua Weitzel lives and works in Kassel, Germany. He is mostly interested in the social aspect of art, developing the majority of his works in collaboration with other artists. His practice encompasses conceptual and electroacoustic composition, improvisation, Jazz, field recordings, sound installation, inter-media projects and curating. In 2020, he was awarded the Culture Prize of the City of Kassel (Kulturförderpreis) for curating the concert series “Chamäleon”. He is currently artistic research associate for sound art and sound research at the University of Mainz.

 

Sam Tsao

Sam Tsao is a Malaysian digital media artist and new music pianist. Their works are varied, combining playful interactivity and improvisation with simple shapes and vibrant colors. Coming initially from the world of classical music, they also collaborate with composers and performers to create audiovisual works. They are currently based in Saarbrücken, Germany.