Since this assignment is about what interests you in your life and we have to create Statistical Art based on our preferred topic. I choose ‘beatbox’ as the subject of my artwork. Beatbox can be classified as a language of communication between two distinct barriers. Instead of adapting and using common words to communicate as a normal human being, beatboxers uses their vocal progression to make sounds and vibrations. It is not limited for us beatboxers to learn or imitate sounds from anything. In fact, beatboxing evolves from influences of different cultures and societies around the world. 

Somehow, it is a language that can easily be understood with someone that you cannot speak in their language. For instance, I am a Malay and i just met a Spanish guy. We both have no idea how to communicate verbally but when we started to randomly beatbox and jam together, it is the only way to share "informations". It is like a different yet interesting way of bonding with other people from around the world who can beatbox. It is something unusual when people watch us beatboxer beatbox and it is possible to even make the audience dance to the beat. Beatbox is just something interesting to learn and look up to because we never know what sound we can come up with and how beatboxing changes our life.

I decided to take the datum source from the Malaysian Beatboxers (2016) group in Facebook based on races of members in the group that consists of Malay, Chinese and Indian with the total of 2,081 members period. According to my calculation and observation, Chinese has the highest percentage which is 55%, equivalent to 1,145 members. Next, Indian has 24% members in the group, equivalent to 499 members. Lastly, Malay has the lowest percentage which is 21%, equivalent to 437 members.

# Ideation #

For my final artwork, I’ve planned and decided to make a video of visuals showing 3 different kinds of powder bursting and colliding with each other on top of a speaker that plays my edited beatbox track. The audio will project sound and cause the speaker to vibrate at a certain frequency which will make the powders bounce to the beat accordingly. All will be video recorded. Process will be more in an analogue form.

This is where the process of recording and audio editing happens. Thanks to my friend i-$KY who manage to help me out on this. It took us roughly around 2 hours to get the audio done but all ended nicely

# Final process #

First, I had my ingredients ready, the different types of powder. I used baby powder, nescafe 3in1 sachet and turmeric powder. Then, i poured some white powder on the speaker just to test it out. After the testing has been done, i poured the rest of the powders based on the percentage of each races from the data that i’ve collected. Consider each powder represents different races. To give some extra lighting, i used my iPhone 4S backlight, nothing more. After all that has been done, i started recording using only my phone. At the same time i played the track and saw how it all goes. It was a great experience to make something like this happened, eventhough i really did ruined my speaker.

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XY

Media Arts III (MMA 2113) 

1132701177

Beatboxer: Kasha

Audio editing: i-$KY

Artist Statement:

The idea of ‘beatboxing’ itself is a form of expression which involves projecting sounds vocally and technically from our mouth and lips. Somehow it is a language, communication between different barriers. Each different colored powder that’s been used in the video represents races in our country Malaysia which is Malay, Chinese and indian (based on my research from our Malaysian Beatboxing Community group in Facebook). We speak in a different language but with beatboxing, we can communicate easily by projecting positive energy through our beatboxing skills for start. The last part, all three powders are colliding and mixing with each other which made them into one color. Metaphorically, beatboxing bonds our races into one harmonic, higher energy of society.