space
Once I fit the breathing ice with my breathy sounds, there was the challenge of display. When I had decided to work with sound, I was already thinking of the presentation or interaction. I was imaging first of making a sound-filled object to approach, then an environment to immerse the viewer in an aesthetic atmosphere to complement the sound. Last I decided on the video which just posed the questions of screen versus projector and how to create enough darkness.
In the end, using large black Molton curtains, the projector and headphones created the kind of display space I had imagined. The curtains were hung sideways with cables stretching the length of the room, muffling exterior sounds and softening the otherwise beautiful light in the exhibition space. Inside, the curtains established another-worldly environment in which to only focus on the subtleties of motion in the video and how the sounds might relate. The video was left on loop so that the viewer could watch and listen to the breathing freely in a relaxing, private space. The piece was named 'Bodies' as it presents the breathing of both bodies, the sea and myself, as reflections of work. The movement and breathing of 'Bodies' is meant to remind us of our physicality, our either easy or labored breath, and the nature of our own movements and therefore labor.
The sea is always moving and changing, and so are we. This project helped to open me up to different means of making and showing work. It represents a stopping point in the audio/visual process in which I began to experiment. But the most surprising part for me was creating an enveloping experience with simple elements and how affective that could be. In the future, I feel more interested to think beyond just the experience of objects but of environment and space as well.
