The idea that has guided me since
the beginning of the year is ‘space’, which is in itself a broad concept that
can be taken in many directions. My interest in this concept came from a
philosophical approach that speaks about: the void the space between.
I examine these concepts through
relationships that exist in the space between the bodies, the space, the sound
and the viewers.
I asked questions -
Do the bodies define the space for
me? Or does the surrounding space define the bodies?
What turns the vessel into a
container if not the space inside it?
Can a resonant cavity contain a
wave of sound without itself having air inside it?
Thoughts about superficiality and
essence came to me.
Suddenly what was tangible,
visual, existing and visible to the eye and the touch, became equal to the
surrounding “emptiness” and even less than it.
Resonant cavity
A resonant cavity is a closed or
almost closed space that allows certain waves to exist inside it, for instance
sound waves.
The resonant cavity limits the
length of the wave to certain values depending on its geometric shape.
I created bodies in space that
“speak” sound. Bodies used as bodies of resonance.
The bodies differ in size and
shape and as a result so do their sounds in space.
I compiled a set of notes built
from different shapes.
Music translated into a language
of shapes.
In fact all bodies in space are
musical instruments that emit different notes.
Thin and long.
Low and wide.
Sharp and soft.
Flowing and fragmented.
The volume also changes according
to the opening of the body.
The way in which the bodies are
hung strengthens their musical appearance.
The taut strings send me to the
world of strings and staves.
When I look at the set of strings
I see before me a set of notes.
A set which relates to the space
which is between the bodies.
A resonant cavity and what is
in between
silence
interval
pause
break
breath
interlude
interruption
rest
silence
Without all of these there would
be no music. Just as without the “emptiness” we would not be able to tell what
exists.
The space created between the body
that is suspended and that which rests speaks of this silence.
Each interval creates a horizon
through which we can look into the beyond.
Different sightlines, ‘realms’
that shift and change with the movement in space.
“The music is not in the notes but
in the silence between them.” (Mozart)
The space between the bodies
creates a tension.
A tension that allows for a
meeting.
A meeting that creates a dialogue
and speaks of stability, ground and security as distinct from the suspended,
the slipping and the swinging.
The distance between them is not
great. Touching but not touching, they give the feeling that they complement
one another and present themselves here as one body.
They want to be, to touch and to
feel but there is an emptiness between them.
There is longing.
Music is an inseparable part of
me.
Engaging in it invites me to enter
my own spiritual world.
Through singing I feel a
connection to the sublime; to something that is beyond what the eye can see.
I am a being separate from life;
feeling that there is another existence.
When I sing I open my heart and
allow people to listen to the depths of my soul.
I touch my emotion and so allow
others to touch theirs.
I feel close.
More connected.
I allow for longing.
For my mother.
The sound is made up of recordings
of the sounds of the bodies themselves.
The decision to use different clay
bodies, fired to two different temperatures, came from a desire to test the
quality and the notes of the sound.
During the work process I
concluded that different firing temperatures did affect the sound and as a
result the range of notes produced from the bodies became enriched.
Sound was produced in a natural
way by tapping with my fingers on the bodies, without any need for external
aids.
I was surprised to discover how
many types of sound could be produced. I learnt that the place on which I
tapped on the different bodies determined the value of note produced.
When I tapped the bottom of the
body I got a tight bass sound, in contrast to the upper part of the body which
produces a high and open sound.
The shape of the body and the size
of the opening also affect the sound. The larger the opening, the stronger the
sound and its reverberation in space, compared to a small opening that
restricts the sound waves and leaves the sound weak.
In all the places that I tapped
the sound was soothing and pleasant to the ear. I felt that dissonance in the
sound was lacking and felt that I needed to produce a sound that would cause
discomfort and give another layer to the sound work.
I used my fingernails, stroking
the body with them from the bottom to the top. I was excited. Another sound had
been found, pleasant and at the same time jarring.
A sound that holds within it
emotion.
After editing the sounds, I
listened. I allowed myself to sing along with them in way that was intuitive
and flowing, without judgment.
In addition to the random melodies
and sounds that emerged from me, I sang part of a song that I had written. A
song that contains longing, memory, pain and ‘emptiness’ like the bodies
themselves.
The more I let go, the closer we
got, until I had the feeling that we were one body.