Ring of Animals
I was asked by Young In Hong to collaborate on this work by developing a sound accompaniment for her installed work, Ring of Animals (2023). The sound was developed as a generative piece that interspersed sounds based in synthesis and field recording with long sections of silence. The onsets and decays of each sound were varied, with some sneaking up on the listener, and some starting much more abruptly and drifting off.
This is the first time I’ve worked alongside a static, non time-based, medium and I found it fascinating to see the change in the room when sounds arrived and left. There seemed to be a genuine conversation between my sound and Young In’s beautiful and enigmatic work. Below is a short extract from the 2023 show in Antwerp, filmed by Young In, and below that are images and another film by myself from the 2024 show at Spike Island gallery in Bristol.
The Bristol iteration expanded the scope of Ring of Animals’ sound. The original version was relatively compact, so stereo was appropriate, whereas the Spike Island version spanned quite a bit of gallery space, which led to an 8 channel version. Not all speakers were active at once. The sound moved around the space in 4 stereo pairs, shifting the conversation between sculpture and sound to a new area in the gallery with each new section of audio.
Ring of Animals: Young In Hong
Kunsthal Extra City, Antwerp
18 Feb - 21 May 2023
Video © Young In Hong