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Music Box Installation was a completely dark, and acoustically
softened room about 5 x 5m in size and 2,5m in height, In
the center of the room there was a sound proof cabinet with
a glass top, The inner dimensions of the cabinet were 50 x
50 x 25cm in size, so it was infact a 1:10 scale model of
the surrounding space. Inside the cabinet there was a simple
mechanical music box fixed to a slowly rotating platform.
A small wheel connected to the music box was making its mechanism
rotate by touching the firm surface next to the rotating platform.
The music box was playing ''Internationale'', former Soviet
national anthem, so slowly that the tune was barely recognisable.
It actually sounded more like some weird out of tune childrens
song.
Each corner of the cabinet had a tiny microphone which was
connected to a speaker in the corresponding corner of the
room. The rotation of the music box inside the cabinet changed
the balance of the four speakers continually so that the music
box sounded like rotating around the room.Some echo was also
added to the sound to confuse the expectations the visitor
had about the size of the room.
The idea of the piece was to study how space is experienced
by its audible characteristics only, if no visual perception
is available, The choice of the tune and old fashioned technique
was aimed to create kind of melancholic and at the same time
horrifying atmosphere to the space.
This installation also appeared at Berlin
North group show, Berlin (2004) and Dundee Contemporary
Arts (2005).
> www.modernamuseet.se
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