HOLLOW
audio-visual installation
Video Sculpture
Hollow is an audio-visual installation comprised of several copper and brass plates that have been hammered into organic curves, a video sculpture which is projected onto the metal plates and an immersive soundscape.
The video sculpture is made out of video fragments that are projected onto the metal structure. The fragments were recorded inside a cave in Haren in the Netherlands. The sun was shining through a waterfall flowing in front of the cave and as the light shone through, flickering sunlight appeared on the walls of the cave. The composition of how these fragments are put together is based on the form of the cave itself, the movement of the camera and the variations in the movements of the sunlight flickering. The sculpture is in constant transformation as the movements of the camera and the flickering sunlight work together to develop the shape of the sculpture. How the video projects onto the metal structure draws out certain forms as well, adding another layer to the transformative aspect of the sculpture.
The soundscape is made from various hydrophone recordings which are inspired by the atmosphere of the cave. Together with recordings of the sounds that the metal plates themselves can create when someone interacts with them, the watery sounds and the metallic sounds create a soundscape that harmonises well together with the textures of the sculpture. The soundscape is played from four speakers in every corner of the exhibition space.
When the installation is being exhibited, limited amount of people is allowed in the space at one time. The idea is to design the audience’s experience so that they can see clearly the details of the sculpture and also experience the solitude of exploring the intimate space on their own.
The piece can also be exhibited as a performative installation where the installation becomes a foundation for a collaboration between three dancers and three musicians that improvise around the elements in the space. The piece is set up in a dark space where different perspectives of the video sculpture are projected onto a simple metal structure in the middle of the space. The metal plates are hanging from the ceiling and in the middle of the metal structure are the dancers that make sounds through interacting with the metal plates. The dancers are wearing lights, and at certain times the video fragments of the sculpture disappear and the lights that the dancer is wearing turn on. The source of light is therefore alternating between coming from the ‘outside’ when the video fragments are being projected onto the metal structure and then to the source of light coming from the inside of the structure when the lights that the dancers are wearing turn on.
The instrumentalists are stationed at the edges of the space, in between the speakers. They follow a score incorporating improvisational elements, giving them space to interact with the electronics and be in conversation with the sounds the dancers create with the metal structure. Similarly, to the light, the source of the sound is coming from the ‘outside’ when the electronics are projected into the space from four speakers in every corner of the room and then from the ‘inside’ when the dancer interacts with the metal.
