Lucinda chua
As the autumn leaves start to fall,we had the pleasure of inviting Lucinda to our London studio. The South London-based artist learned music by ear from the age of three using the Suzuki method, and has since collated an impressive portfolio of collaborators. However, with her focus now channelled on her own art, Lucinda,s music has gone from strength to strength. Lucinda balances her delicate vocals with powerfull ambient chords in perfect harmony , creating an otherworldly initimate performance that is a must see for an music enthusiast.
My name is Lucinda Chua, I'm an artist working with music and performance. I released my first record "Antidotes" last year and will soon be releasing my debut solo album on the record label 4ad.
I love that about Renli Su, How your designs draw inspiration from the past, but your innovative techniques create something that belongs to the future, it resonates with me.
Since the new year, I have been taking classical Chinese fan and ribbon dance classes. There is something so magical about embodying these movements and learning about their origins in Chinese culture. For example, Chinese dance with silk draws reference from the Feitian, ancient ethereal beings with beautiful singing voices. It was believed the Feitian could fly, there long colored silks would trail behind them in the sky accentuating their graceful elegance. My studies in classical Chinese done are helping me evolve my own unique movement language, something I hope to explore more in my work.
Thank you! Honestly, I think resting and taking time out is very underrated. So often people think of productivity in relation to output, but it's a cyclical thigs, our minds need time to process and our bodies need rest to recharge. There was a time when I was working so hard to achieve goals I had set, that I didn't have any energy left to enjoy myself, actively scheduling in recovery. inspiration is a mindset, when we are depleted we don't have the capacity to access it.
I love the work of artist Sophie Mei Birkin. I have commissioned her to make a sculpture for my show at Southbank Centre this October. I love the fluidity and transformative properties of her work, it's a world I feel very at home in.
Chantel Foo is another artist whoes creative practice I find very inspring, as a performer, chorepgrapher and also founder and host of the fledgling queer movement community Studio Lotusroot. We worked together on movement direction for a new music video of mine, their nurturing, throughtful approach to movement and dance has made me feel like a little plant unfurling new leaves of possibility.
Golden is a song I wrote from the perspective of my younger self, someone looking to make sense of their identity in the absence of a role model to look up to. co-wrote the video for Golden with my friends, the brilliant director Tash Tung. We cast 9 year old rising talent Coco Bridger to play "Yian Yian", the younger version of myself. It was a very emotional esperience to perform together. Erin Tse designed the set, Which was inspired by Yoshino Oishi's mosquito net portraits and the film Hero by Zhang Yimou. Golden will be released later this month.
Thank you, that is very kind of you to say. The performance that sticks in my mind was Bold Tendencies in Peckham last Summer. It was my first show coming out of lockdown and the first time I saw many of my family and friends in one place. For many people in the audience, it was their first experience of live music after COVID. The venue is in a multi-story carpark, semi open air, with incredible views of the city skyline. I was honoured to be invited to perform there. There was the most beautiful sunset that evening and as I built loops and layers of cello until the sound was as big as an orchestra, you could feel the vibrations of the trains passing, it was very cinematic
My next live show is for purcell Sessions at the Southbank Center in London on October 13th, I will also be Playing at Pitchfork Festival at EartH Theatre in Hackney on November 11th. I hope to see you there <3
Lucinda Chua x Renli Su
Artist: Lucinda Chua
Photography and Styling: Nina Scott-Smith @ninascottsmith
Hair: Kanae Kikuchi @kikuchikanae
Make up: Natsumi Narita @natsumi_narita