2014 Cellar Noises Expedition at the Urban Explorer Festival, Dordrecht, NL 2019, 2020, ….
The “woollen sound organs” – installation as electro acoustic art form can be presented in a gallery or site specific space. There is a “projected” multi channel soundscape: spatialisation by four loudspeakers in a square and four “woollen sound organs” lying on the floor. The public can take and share the wearable “woollen sound organs” like woollen lungs, heart and liver while hearing and feeling the resonating organ sounds through their body, becoming performers themselves by moving around through the space. When wearing the “woollen sound organs” they can take distance or leave the square with the projected soundscape ambiance and enter an adjacent space or corridor with different acoustic properties to experience the “woollen sound organs” in an even more “private” and intimate way. They stay wired and connected with the context and the installation as a whole.
Together with Hannes Wallrafen, a well known Dutch photographer who in 2004 lost the sight in both eyes due to a genetic illness and got involved in sound art afterwards, I presented my “woollens sound organs” as part of “Expedition Cellar Noises”, curated by Nico Parlevliet. This expedition was part of the “Urban Explorer Festival” and hosted by the Museum of Dordrecht.
try out in studio of Hannes Walrafen
The public could take and share wearable the “woollen sound organs” like woollen lungs, heart and liver while hearing and feeling the resonating organ sounds through their body. While moving through the cellar spaces they became part of the projected multi channel soundscape of cellar noises related to the sound history of the old wine cellar the Old Berckepoort.
Reaction of a women: ” it remembered me of being pregnant ..”
In recent past they found rests of “organs” and human body parts in the cellar during an archaeological unearthing. The “woollen sound organs” triggered several reactions, sensorial associations, reminiscences and talking about the “multi sensorial hearing perspective”. The multi channel touch-soundscapes for the “woollen sound organs” composed by Hannes Walrafen and me.
man with woollen lungs
The “woollen sound organs” are not high-tech sensor based textiles. Their goal is the temporal realisation of an unexpected personal and collective tactile sonic experience: a sensorial disruption in which the users become aware of being interactive embodied “sensors” themselves as listeners and performers at the same time. The “multi sensorial hearing perspective” (link artistic research) is questioning the ways our hearing is influenced by the information of multiple senses and our hearing perspective by culture, collective and personal moving- and listening habits. As part of our gestural behaviour in the sound habitat, our being acoustical intertwined with the soundscapes where we live, work and travel through, our being (un)wired, connected in diverse and constantly transforming social and personal (acoustic) spaces. “We can be more aware of our being sound performers in our own sound habitat to become responsible and response-able citizens of the global composition”
2019
Presentation “woollen sound organs” with 6.1 “skinscape” composition in the glasshouse Keerweer, West Wednesdays, Amsterdam West.
The site specific multi channel “skinscape” composition was based on recorded surrounding sounds, and sounding materials in the glass house. You could hear the (computer generated) voice of the glass house interchanging with my natural voice: “a skin of glass, iron, wood, water,… a fluid skin, a rhythmic skin, a musical skin… every thing has its own voice, every organ has its own skin”, etc. During the composition the sounds become more musical. These sounds where mixed with the (inner) sounds from the organs, nerves and heart beats, creating an emerging “musical” experience for ears and body. The public was listening attentive, there were intimate organ chats and talks about hearing, senses, surrounding sounds and experimental music. You can watch some pictures as facebook album here.
2020
I’ve composed a new 6.1 channel soundscape composition: “introspective (de)constructed nature”.
Composed for theme: “Music ecosystem” of 2020 ISCM, International Society for Contemporary Composers, World Music Days, New Zealand. I was one of the Dutch composers nominated (for selection) by Nieuw Geneco New Association Dutch Composers. You can find my proposal for presentation in the ISCM catalogue here.
Here you can listen to the stereo version of “introspective (de)constructed nature”:
(best listening with headphones)
The 6.1 channel composition for the “woollen sound organs”-installation is an extended version adding further accents and details to each organ, creating an intimate personal sensory hearing perspective. For example you can hear and feel heartbeats and the voices coming directly from the woollen lungs with trachea… The public wearing and sharing the “woollen sound organs” become conductors of their own multi sensory experience and while moving through the space(s) conductors of the music piece as temporary music ecosystem for the whole audience.
2023 On June 17 the Dutch Day of the Composer I presented the “woollen sound organs” – installation with the sensescapes “introspective (de)constructed nature” and “skinscape” during the Biennale More than Music, Toets des Tijds. It became a unique performance evening with an attentive listening, interactive public moving, sharing and experiencing the woollen sound organs.
