Suki Chan speaks to Dimsum's Doris Lee Butterworth about Shadow Songs, which appears alongside All Tomorrows Parties at this year's Electric Shadows film festival.

What was the inspiration for Shadow Songs?

My partner Dinu Li (who is a co-director of Shadow Songs) and I have been interested in working with shadows and what they symbolise for some time. The ideas for this piece began on the Island of Mull, as we were exploring the island in the evening. We came upon magnificent shadows of trees cast on the side of buildings, some of which seemed to resemble figures. We started to reflect on a particular Greek myth about a young girl who draws around the shadow of her lover as a way to capture his presence. In time, the lover is lost and the drawing on her wall becomes a memento of him and their love.

We were interested in this concept of capturing shadows- of freezing time, using still images and video. The piece began as a live performance within an installation. Electric Shadows film festival is the first time that Shadow Songs is being shown as a short film in its own right.

Can you tell me more about the characters in Shadow Songs and what you are conveying to the audience?

The two characters, Princess Jin and The Lady of Atropos represent light and dark- ying and yang. We were interested to create a sense of mystique around these two characters and to express our feelings that opposites are intrinsically intertwined. We never get to see these characters- we are offered only glimpses of the silhouette outline of them. Whether they are human or goddesses, real or imaginary is left for the viewers to decide.

There are Chinese and English influences in Shadow Songs, for example, the second character's costume is influenced by Victorian dress. Having both been born in Hong Kong but educated in England, we feel strongly about this duality and often the work that we produce reflects this.

Do you think there are any similarities between Chinese and English culture?

In many ways, they are poles apart. Particularly with regards to knowledge. For example, many Chinese people are able to accept what we can't readily see- like the many gods and spirits that we believe in and are perpetually trying to appease. Westerners often think of the Chinese as being very superstitious.

What other projects have you been working on?

I have recently teamed up with the BBC Philharmonic to respond to the orchestral music of a Chinese composer called Chen Yi. I heard her work about a year ago and was very intrigued by the myths which inspired this work. The project culminated with a multi-media concert- with video projection, textiles artwork, dancers and singers along with the orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

And what are your future plans?

I am very interested in exploring the theme of rice, following my visit to Yunnan late last year. I want to explore the significance of rice to Chinese people in an era where there is now so much choice and freedom to sample foods from all over the world. What happens to this product that has for so long be seen as a neccessity within our culture and identity?