Els Viaene (Installation)
she/her
May 30 - Jun 16 | de Brakke Grond
As part of the sound art exhibition Neighbouring Frequencies at the Brakke Grond, Els Viaene presents an pivotal installation in her body of work as Flemish sound artist. For the first time in the Netherlands the installation Vibrant Matter (2016) can be seen, and especially heard.
Vibrant Matter is a kinetic sculpture in which a sheet of paper is manipulated with magnets. The soft, crackling sound is amplified, creating the sense of a grand, transforming landscape. Inspired by a fieldwork trip to Iceland, the work explores the relationship between sound, matter, landscape and the imagination. Revealing and articulating hidden processes beneath the earthly body.
The Icelandic extremely contrasting environments all had one thing in common: these places had been frozen in time, as if coagulated in the middle of a metamorphosis. While the visible environment appears static to the eye; below the surface are continuous and ongoing processes, tensions and movements that can be measured, recorded and articulated through sound.
About the artist
Els Viaene is a sound artist / field recordist with a special interest in the perception of what we as humans see and hear and how both interfere. Many of her works deal with the sensing of light and sound by our body and what scientific processes underlie them. She started her artistic practice with a set-up of two small microphones to zoom into and enlarge the aural landscapes surrounding her. Working on sound materials for installations, she makes the listeners travel in imaginary and organic environments. Through the specific use and set-up of sound within a space her installations create new spaces within existing ones.
The exhibition Neighbouring Frequenties is free to attend.
This artist is part of the sound art programme Neighbouring Frequenties in collaboration with STUK and de Brakke Grond. Special thanks to Kunstenpunt and DutchCulture for their support.
