440Hz
Hobart, 2016 - 2017
Steel, Aluminium, Speakers, Stereoscopic camera, White LED, Code
Over time, our senses have evolved to tune into the stimuli necessary for survival as we navigate through our environment. How do these actions of survival inform our cultural or creative output?
The human body can be considered an instrument, our movements creating vibrations both within and beyond the limits of our senses and constantly adapting, we create an evolving feedback loop between ourselves and surrounding space. 440Hz tunes into this field, utilising light and sound to translate energy into a form and language which we can see, hear and feel.
440Hz begins with a dense sonic palette - a noise field which is random in its behaviour. Sounds build up over time to create richer timbres and harmonies as they respond to individual body movements such as fast, broad gestures or to more controlled or delicate motion which create order and define the character of the instrument.
The canvas surrounds the participant, continuously being re-sculpted and transformed in direct response to their actions. Combining the character of the sound with the form of the body amplifies the participants’ awareness of both their self and their influence on the surrounding environment.
440Hz is one of nine original works commissioned by MONA for its exhibition On the Origin of Art, which included more than 230 objects from 35 countries, spanning millennia and cultures with artworks by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami, Bridget Riley, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Georgia O’Keeffe, Mat Collishaw, Andy Goldsworthy and Cindy Sherman.
Sound design by Scanner and Ben Kreukniet
Pictures by Rémi Chauvin
