Works

25L

, 2010
Metal sheets and metal extrusions, pvc tubes, air compressor, pneumatic horns
280 x 240 x 250 cm. Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection

Can a sound harass? Hurt? Kill? Is there a sound that can distance, reject, annoy? What vibrations and sound pressures are bearable to a human body? Have you ever seen a sound cannon? They say they were used against pirates. And there are tales of killer buzzes and shouts that can shove someone far away. The next great war might be fought this way.
HL (2009), 25 L (2010) and LK100A (2010) are three works that partially differ for their shape and the materials used, but they all start from a common basis: the study and research on sound weapons.
These works get filled with air, they load it in the tanks of the compressors as if they were a big belly. They hold their breath until the limit and then they release it violently, forcefully. If stimulated, the vocal cords of horns will vibrate. The tubes will then let that restrained breath flow, they will channel and amplify it, by summing its screeches and swishes. The final funnels, extremely elegant mouths, allow its venting gracefully and decidedly. Its unloading. Its outlet. Until the end. Until silence comes.

When they are quiet, they may be confused with attractive branches. Cylindrical logs with large trumpet-shaped flowers.
Freeze-resistant. Stretched out, ready to hit.
Toxic.

 

25L was created for the exhibition 21×21 artisti per il 21° secolo and later bought by Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.