We’ve mentioned David Letellier – also known as Kangding Ray – a few times, but this one was a little unexpected: we’re used to seeing him on stage, not in the gallery. But hopefully there will be more to come. But before you read on, you should really watch the video first. ––– There. Done? Not sure what you’ve been looking at? This is what it is all about, in David’s own words:
‘Versus is a sound installation consisting of two kinetic sculptures placed face to face. Each sculpture is made out of 12 triangular panels, hinged and powered by six linear actuators, controlled by a specific program. At the center of each corolla, a loudspeaker and a microphone allow to play and record sounds. At regular intervals, each sculpture produces a sound, simultaneously recorded and analyzed by the opposite sculpture, which then moves according to the frequencies of this sound. Like a feedback loop, it then plays back the recorded sound, with the errors and disturbances caused by the reverberating space and the visitors. By intervening in this conversation, the viewer becomes an actor, as he degrades the communication by his presence and the noises he produces. As the panels move back and forth at a pace determined by the environmental sound, they create a non-immediate interaction, where the imperfections of reproduction are becoming creative elements. The original sound is continuously transformed, and becomes something entirely new and unpredictable. The memory of past events is hold for a moment, until it’s reproduced, degraded, and then forgotten, replaced by the present.’
