Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Obra Sonora, Carroll/Fletcher

until 01 Nov 14

So: dissonance, discord, cacophony: all words with the negative inbuilt inside them. Bad.

Arrays of moveable speakers as infographics. As sculptures. Beautiful on their own merit. They reveal their purpose immediately, actual, non-abstract, non-detached conceptual art. Conceptual art should always had been this.

Dissonance, discord, noise. Here, in front of us, the cacophony of national anthems is laid bare. I saw and heard the futility of nationalist ideals in these speakers, but maybe there is nothing to see, only to hear their assembly as is, this Pan-Anthem (2014).

Mirroring this same idea, Sphere Packing (2014) downstairs, engulfs you in a serene little solar system of exquisite planets, the music of the spheres incarnated in sounds emanating from each, audible only when you reluctantly put your ear next to them, touching them slightly with a feeling of mischief while their tiny vibrations tickle you back, in concert.

Both these sculptural and sound installations seem to stem directly from the tradition of the visually stunning statistical and information graphics introduced by scientists like William Farr and Florence Nightingale. It is this attribute that elevates Lozano-Hemmer’s work from his contemporaries’.

Voice Array (2011) plays with the idea of cacophony as well, but with different intentions. Here the visitors’ contributions help create an atmospheric output to which I felt I could immerse myself for days. I was ashamed by how reluctant I found myself in contributing my voice, maybe the actual installation is not even the encompassing light but exactly my inhibitions. Naughty man.

But aside of all these rooms of dissonance, is a small room where the noise and the playfulness are absent at first. In their place a small kinetic machine, full of morbid thoughts and more inhibitions. I felt very uncomfortable as if in a funeral, though possibly all is just thin air. Naughty man. The exhibition is indeed me as much as this machine. A joke, or a memento mori to revere? Last Breath (2012). I am so relieved this was long before ‘The Last Gasp’ of Inside No.9. I would had been devastated.

Obra Sonora. Lozano-Hemmer. Sound works. Sound Master.


more info:
http://www.carrollfletcher.com/usr/documents/exhibitions/press_release_url/32/rlh-obra-sonora-press-release.pdf
http://www.lozano-hemmer.com/
http://www.bl.uk/whatson/exhibitions/beautiful-science/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Gasp_(Inside_No._9)
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-09/20/rafael-lozano-hemmer