Rest

2001
Audio installation
Media: plywood, 2×4, drywall, paint, foam insulation, fleece fabric, carpet, plexiglass, 40 speakers, 6 amplifiers, E-MU sampler
Dimensions: 900 sq.ft., ht.:10’

Rest incorporates the gallery space as articulator of sound. Negotiations between acoustics, architecture and membranes are played out via the constructed configuration of the physical structure and the orchestrated voice. The music composition is informed by chants used in Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist practices and by Indian and Arabic vocal traditions. This amalgamation continues my ongoing research into cross-cultural fertilizations. The vocalization is used here to generate a perceptual trance, a vehicle that expresses the movement of the body in space, and the synchronous awareness and release of self. As the visitor moves through the 8 sets of 5-speaker sound arcs, a spiraling tunnel of sound is created.