ArtScience Cinema is the museum’s latest screening space with specially-curated films all year round.
ArtScience Encounters with Hiroshi Ebina
From 14 Feb
SPECIAL EVENT
ArtScience Encounters with Hiroshi Ebina
Japanese sound artist Hiroshi Ebina sculpts an installation of ambient music works in the Oculus that delves into the realms of sound and spirit, offering solace through its tranquil tones.
Presented in collaboration with KITCHEN. LABEL as part of Living Gently, a season of slow programming and environments embracing a different way of looking and living.
Learn more about Living Gently.
In Science and the Human Heart (2022)
Daily, 10am – 7pm
In Science and the Human Heart explores the intricate balance of sound to create a sonic environment that feels weightless, intimate and meditative. The immersive, free-floating ambience of the compositions was designed to invite listeners into a gentle state of relaxation and sound health.
The music was produced via a system of open-reel tape processing in conjunction with modular synthesisers and acoustic instruments such as music boxes, glockenspiel and guitars. The piece starts with the sound of a half-a-century-old NAGRA IV analogue tape recorder turning on. The melody of a music box, recorded onto a 1/4-inch tape, slowly reverberates along with a subtle drone. Jewel-toned plucked sounds, tape noise and the sounds of found objects alternate with cascades of light and fragile beauty. Light harmonics and decay hover throughout, adding a lingering quality to the soundscape.
Ebina created this body of works as a personal therapeutic process to cope with depression during his early adulthood years. The instrumental explorations speak to the complexities of the human heart, and each song is intended as a small message card to listeners.
Into the Darkness of the Night (2024)
Fri & Sat, 7pm – 9pm
A serene, analogue dreamcore that has become Ebina’s signature, Into the Darkness of the Night is a lullaby for the sleepless and a sonic balm for the restless mind, crafted for the quiet hours of city nights.
Inspired by his partner’s struggles with insomnia, Ebina embarked on this project as an exploration of the concept of sleep, initially drawing inspiration from Max Richter’s Sleep and Brian Eno’s Music for Sleep. As the recording process evolved, Hiroshi infused the work with his own sound and vision that developed into a deeply personal interpretation of the nightly ritual.
The journey unfolds through nine tracks, each a descent deeper into the night’s embrace. The work begins with bright, high-register synths, evoking the twilight hours when city lights flicker on, and gradually transitions to mid-range tones that gently guide listeners into a dreamscape mirroring our nightly surrender to sleep — where consciousness fades and dreams emerge from the depths of our subconscious.
About ArtScience Encounters
Presented in collaboration with artists and creatives, ArtScience Encounters is an invitation to discover curious spaces hidden within ArtScience Museum’s unique architecture. Take time to explore and experience these compelling artworks, intriguing happenings and sensorial experiences spanning various genres and mediums. Spaces are refreshed periodically with new works.
Daily: 10am – 7pm
Fri & Sat: 7pm – 9pm
About the Artist
About Hiroshi Ebina
Hiroshi Ebina’s work is a constellation of sound, image, and tradition blending ambient music with the ancient art of gagaku (traditional Japanese court music) and photography of minimalistic landscapes in cities and nature.See more
After formative years in Tokyo and New York, Hiroshi returned to his hometown near Tokyo in 2018. Immersing himself in the sonic worlds of modular synthesisers and tape machines, he began studying hichiriki and biwa — traditional gagaku instruments — and dance under musicians from the Imperial Household Agency. In the years following, he reestablished his base in Tokyo, crafting a unique sound informed by both modern techniques and ancient traditions.
Hiroshi has become a representative figure in Japan’s ambient community, frequently sharing the stage with international artists like Khotin, Emily A. Sprague and Cool Maritime.
About KITCHEN. LABEL
KITCHEN. LABEL is an independent record label grounding music that speaks in textures and an aesthetic that blends subtlety, depth and emotional resonance. Its catalogue spans various strains of ambient, jazz, neoclassical, folk, new age and ephemeral in-betweens. Each release is a journey into atmospheres — both earthly and otherworldly.
Founded in 2008 by Ricks Ang, the label originated in Singapore and finds itself deeply entwined with the cultural nexus of Tokyo and the broader Japanese community. Over the years, it has gathered a global community drawn to its ethos: music as a mind-space, artistry as a bridge across cultures, and sound as an intimate language of shared experience.
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EVENT SPECIAL EVENT
Living Gently
Living Gently is a season of slow programming and environments embracing a different way of looking and living, unfolding across performances, screenings, installations and activities from February onwards.
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