featured artist
Online Threat
Oscar Chiu is a classically trained pianist and violinist who is expanding his artistic practice into the realms of electronic music and image under the pseudonym online threat.
online threat exists as an entity of the web; a personal project excavating the emotive sonic possibilities of field recordings, samples and synthesis while questioning the existing boundaries of genres in both original composition and DJ sets.
online threat will release his debut project, Contrapuntal Transfigurations, in May 2020, where he explores the cycles of ritualized societal violence.
Were you born an artist or made an artist?
I believe in the flexibility and potential of humankind. You are born, and it could end there... but with some imagination can't you be anything else?
What does success mean to you?
The feeling that a connection has been made, or when a self-reflective portal has been opened. I'm interested in emotional and intellectual contagion.
How have your life experiences influenced your style?
I think creativity comes from lack, whether it’s identifying a lack in a particular direction of cultural production and trying to fill that void, or feeling an internalized, personal lack that builds up until a burst... to me lack always seems to lead to a force towards an equilibrium. That said, this identification of lack also means the acknowledgement of what was, recognizing the lineage of endeavours of the past. Creating is a balancing act of personal sincerity and reverence of work made before me. There is no singular event that’s shaped me...it all comes together
Why does this matter to you?
Lack matters because it create a sense of desperation - desperation as you approach a dead end; a scenario where you are forced to swim or else you'll drown. I feel like these situations can push individuals to extremes that reveal a side of them that they didn't know they had access to... It pushes something out of them, and it comes from the gut. It's a survival instinct really.