W. Sze Tsang : Associate Artist
Photo: Shirin Barghnavard
w. sze tsang / samarobryn is a composer and audio-visual artist
whose work explores the intersections of history, place and self
through digital technologies. Born in Hong Kong of Hakka
heritage, and now based in Boorloo/Perth on Whadjuk Noongar
Boodjar, their work strives to create connections between place
and self through using aspects of place - such as field
recordings, maps, photographs, geospatial and weather datasets,
geographical features and historical events - alongside personal
reflections to explore the multi-layered intersections between
multiple temporalities, histories, ecologies and geographies.
Themes in sze's work include memory, loss, grief, slow violence,
colonisation, and climate change.
sze's compositions are informed by experimental and exploratory
practices, emphasising elements such as the textural qualities of
transformed sound (through a combination of effects and
time-stretching sound samples), and contrasting these with the
original sound source(s). Their works also feature the creation
and manipulation of synthetic environments, through the
combination of generative visuals, altered field recordings, and
rendering of images into digital autonomous instruments. Through
exposing the multiple layers of narrative that inform place,
sze's works invite unearthings of the past, meditations on the
present and contemplations of the future.
sze completed a practice-led PhD on place and composition at the
WA Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 2023 (supervisors:
Stuart James and Jonathan W. Marshall), and also won the WAAPA
Research Medal for the most outstanding research thesis. As a
researcher, sze has published writings and spoken at national and
international conferences on sound composition, field recording
and psychogeography, and is also one of the editors of Chroma:
Journal of the Australasian Computer Music Association.
Some of sze's commissions include the State Library of Western
Australia, Tura New Music, the Difficult Listening Project and
the You Are Here Festival. As samarobryn, sze regularly performs
live, and has released multiple solo and collaborative albums on
Burnt Seed Records, Dog Park Records and Fallen Moon Recordings
(USA). Previous artist residencies include Bundanon, Bogong
Centre For Sound Culture, Arteles Creative Centre (Finland) and
Burren College of the Arts (Ireland). sze's graphical notation
scores have been performed by Decibel New Music, Greywing
Ensemble, and the Monash Animated Notation Ensemble. sze has been
the recipient of funding from organisations such as Creative
Australia, CITS and PICA.
Biography provided by the composer — current to June 2026
