Strings for Strangling

About

咒弦
I’ve been rageful

I balance the weight of wood between my thighs and on my shoulder.
On the left, joy
On the right, pain.

With my exhale, I speak his curse, your blessing recites my inhale.

This harp is a gallows
These strings are for strangling.

An experimental performance from a depraved he-witch who uses harps as his conduit for magical manipulation.

Through improvised music and spell poetry the he-witch casts a suite of curses and blessings at his whim, fluctuating between punishing and healing those he deems worthy.

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Danny Lam is a harpist and writer whose interests lie in cursed items and the horrors. He is based in Naarm/Melbourne, with roots in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and ancestry from Shanghai, China. Danny’s writing involves the various languages he has experience with and knowledge gained from his regular job which is currently in the medical research industry. His artistic goals are to explore the dramatic capabilities of the harp, beyond traditional playing. He explores extended technique and is especially influenced by experimental Victorian harpist Mary Doumany. Danny bought the whole harp and intends to use every last string.

Image courtesy the artist

[ID]: A broken red harp string threaded between the strings of a pedal harp in warm lighting.