Dan Su

The culture in China — I'm from Kunming, Yunnan Province, in southern China — is very diverse. Yunnan has the most minorities in China, around 25, so I grew up influenced by them. I guess the culture influenced me unconsciously, especially regarding its versatility. When I create music nowadays, the folk cultural elements from where I come from still inspire me.

Dan Su

Yes, I would say philosophy plays an important role in my work, especially regarding questions of existence and belonging. However, I wouldn’t say I’m influenced solely by Chinese philosophy, as I also read many works by Western philosophers who have influenced me strongly, such as Heinz von Förster’s work on Cybernetics, Vilém Flusser on media and writings, and more recently, Nelson Goodman, who takes an integrated view of art and science. It’s a combination of both — East and West. But yes, Taoism has definitely influenced me as well.

Dan Su

Yes, causal inference was something I studied more scientifically in the U.S. through what’s called “Quantitative Methodology.” I became quite interested in causality and designing experiments to understand cause and effect. Now, I’m mirroring this in my art—cause and effect with movements and sound—studying this relationship in an artistic context. As for Taoism, it influences my work in a transcendent and poetic way of both viewing and creating a world. To understand a world, I almost need to construct a new one, and the process of constructing it in a poetic way feels closer to my nature, without losing a systematic view behind it.

Dan Su

I think it is about the root of things and understanding the complex relationships of simple things, or simple correlations in a complex world, and being able to create and suggest new worlds through my own discoveries and language. To me, the disciplines in the arts and also science today are quite segregated. Even in interdisciplinary projects, there is collaboration, but not in a deeply integrated way. I’m seeking a transdisciplinary approach, where different media stem from a unified conceptual framework. I want to find a language designed for that.

Dan Su

In this project, which will be a sound-movement performance, it’s about how body movement creates sound in a more sophisticated way. It’s not always instantaneous like playing an instrument; it can have a significant delay concerning space as a factor. I’m also playing with the visibility of the cause of the sound. In Innsbruck, I'm focusing on the movement of “Jī ”, meaning to hit or to throw at something—there’s an origin, a direction, and a target of this movement. This translates to sound as well, I want to delve into this specific movement vocabulary by investigating a psychoacoustic space where the experiences of its origin, direction and the target are morphed, much like my own life path. Through a combination of composition, sound design, and choreography with the help of technology.

Dan Su

It is more of a continuation of my choreographic practice of studying specific movement vocabularies. “Hanging” was the movement vocabulary I practiced and applied most in the opera work Gentle Brutality (2021), which addresses homelessness. “Dragging,” in Chinese Pingyin “Tuō” (2023), is the movement around which one of the performances in my 3 D Metal series is centered, creating a character of a spaceman who drags around absurdly without a specific purpose. Now, “Jī 击” comes from an obsessive image in my head of throwing a stone. It has to do with the origin of things. I believe that creators who started creating did so because their heads were hit by a stone. So they began to throw various stones into the darkness from then on. Perhaps that was the motivation.

Dan Su

Narrative is always part of my work, but most of the time I don’t have a fixed story. The character usually emerges and develops in the process as I work on the piece, also on stage. I usually start with the setting, meaning the space, the site, or the situation, and then work with the materials I engage with, including physical objects and movements. By exploring the relationship between the body and the setting, the character and its narrative would become clearer and clearer to me. This also implies that I work with an open structure. In the performance, the character comes into life through an open interaction with the setting. Perhaps my approach to choreography is more like that of a musician, first figuring out the setup and then playing spontaneously by interacting with the setting and the audience.

Dan Su

This series started in 2021 while I was in residency at Torhaus Stadt Wehlen. I think the choice of metal came intuitively because of its sound quality. In traditional instruments, like pianos or other string instruments, metal is a common material. To me metal creates tension, and while malleable to be shaped, it produces a variety of interesting sounds. I often use found metal objects and connect them to electronics to further manipulate the sound. Aesthetically, it’s visually appealing to me of its color and texture. I am inspired by its raw nature. As a basic element of the earth, it’s able to show its life through oxidation.

Dan Su

There are different levels to my work. First, there’s the material level, where I work with objects and their sound. Then there’s the body level — the body within a site or environment, which directs to the space level. Finally, there’s an invisible level — though calling it spiritual might sound kitschy, it’s something that creates a striking sensation and makes space for a moving and haunting presence. This sensation is what I seek to emerge in my performances.

Cybernetics is the methodology or theory I refer to. I work with interactive elements and feedback loops, connecting different levels and sometimes involving participants. It’s about constructing a world with an open structure in which various levels — body, material, space — could interact. Sometimes, I place more emphasis on machines and inanimate matter than on human bodies, and these machines or non-human elements can be embodied as well. I then leave room for the unknown, for spirits to enter.

Dan Su

Yes, this is a subsequent music project following Gentle Brutality (2021). It reflects on what "home" means to me. It draws from memories of my hometown, where people would sing folk songs and communicate across the mountains. I don’t know their language because I’m not part of that minority, but it resonated with me. As a minority living abroad, I created my fantasy language because home for me is a place where I can speak my own language. Additionally, I love free-styling. It allows me to transmit my feelings spontaneously, without worrying about attaching literal meanings.

Dan Su

Art, in general, is healing for me. Artistic practice, especially music, is a way to live and heal. It’s fundamental and has a profound effect. It drives me to live on and allows me to shed all the baggage of the past and focus on present.

Dan Su

The process of work is like a play for me. I need to be fully immersed in it and enjoy what I’m doing. I don’t want to take everything deadly serious. For me, it’s about curiosity and staying open to the unknown. Of course, there’s intention and vision behind the work, often accompanied by a lot of study and practice. Enlightenment comes when I am struck by a stone when I play.