Recycled aluminium, LED light, electronics, plants, concrete, 2 channel sound
duration approx. 10 minutes (channel 1 - installation) + 50 minutes (channel 2 - main hall)
2023
“Surface Tension” conceptually and sonically examines notions of resistance and force within environments close to the edge of a body of water. With sound recordings from the Aura River, the coastlines of the Archipelago, and the concrete brutalist buildings of the Sibelius Museum and Holy Cross Chapel, the project explores the local ecologies surrounding Turku, Finland and the complex relationship between urban and industrial spaces with resource extraction and natural environments.
The sound recordings were made with a field recorder, a hydrophone and contact microphones, plus a modular synthesiser, DIY electronics, and effect pedals. Recording locations include: the Aura River dam, Ruissalo shipyard docks, along the banks of the Aura River, the surface of the Sibelius Museum’s exterior, inside the Holy Cross Chapel, and Ispoinen Beach. Additional recordings include along the coastlines of islands in the archipelago, on boats and ferries, sounds from inside a cement mixing bucket, and Kurjenrahka National Park.
The use of materials and surface in Finnish Brutalist buildings extends the exterior environment into the interior - the exterior surface shows the process of how it was made: the wood grain from the concrete mold remains embedded in the structure, linking the building to the processes, history and materials that created it. The external natural ecologies and environments the buildings occupy become an essential part of the building itself.
Created during an artist residency at Titanik in Turku, Finland.
"Surface Tension" in "Dearly Detested Concrete" exhibition at the Sibelius Museum, Turku, Finland
17.09.2023 - 07.01.2024