2018
video documentation of seasonal ritual at Midewin Tall Grass Praire, Potawatomi Land
sonic sculpture
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Hill Transformations
Hill Transformations explores the physics of sound, place, and hybrid landscapes. Midewin Tall Grass Prairie is one of the few large tall grass prairies left in the world and is a hybrid landscape. Now 5 years into restoration, this site carries a long history of human entanglement in its’ sediment.
On-site bunkers that once cured ammunition for WWII are now taken over by the prairie wilderness. Using materials found in the prairie I created sounds inside the bunker. In loosely defined collaboration with a stone, some tall grass, and a seed pod I attempt to sense time and space all entangled through vibration. In Bill Viola’s The Sound of One Line Scanning, he states,
The series of objects used to create stereo recordings inside the ammunition bunker are placed on transducers, which transmit sound waves through each object. As waves pass through objects the sound is distorted based on the object’s physical properties. Thus, each stone and prairie plant adds a new complexity and voice to the soundscape. A viewer is invited to walk through the space listening to the voices of objects. One is invited into yet another hybrid landscape.
On-site bunkers that once cured ammunition for WWII are now taken over by the prairie wilderness. Using materials found in the prairie I created sounds inside the bunker. In loosely defined collaboration with a stone, some tall grass, and a seed pod I attempt to sense time and space all entangled through vibration. In Bill Viola’s The Sound of One Line Scanning, he states,
The most basic physical phenomena studied by the acousticians reads like a set of mystical visions of nature.
Reflection: Multiple regular reflections produce the conditions of reverberation, where sound can be repeated
over and over on top of itself, the past becoming indistinguishable from the present.
The series of objects used to create stereo recordings inside the ammunition bunker are placed on transducers, which transmit sound waves through each object. As waves pass through objects the sound is distorted based on the object’s physical properties. Thus, each stone and prairie plant adds a new complexity and voice to the soundscape. A viewer is invited to walk through the space listening to the voices of objects. One is invited into yet another hybrid landscape.
stones, asphalt, cement, metal, slag, glass, sound
Image Credit : Brittany Laurent
Image Credit : Brittany Laurent