ECHO-SYSTEM 1994 Exhibition at FRAC Bretagne

0.70 x 6.50 x 4.50 m

Gray cinder block wall, canvas coated with cement and brick dust, wooden frame, acoustic equipment: 4 speakers, 1 tape recorder, a 7-minute soundtrack (looping).

The piece “Echo-System” was created for the courtyard of the cloister at the Rennes School of Fine Arts (as part of a site-specific commission).

A canvas coated with brick dust is placed on a cinder block structure (low wall). Rainwater and dew that collect on the surface of the canvas in the form of mirrors/puddles reflect fragments of the building and the sky. These mirrors evaporate and reform according to variations in humidity.

Two acoustic speakers are installed under the canvas (inside sealed enclosures) and play the sound of footsteps on the gravel of the cloister walkway, as part of a circumambulatory walk. This sound is played continuously (on an endless magnetic tape). The two speakers are connected to the sound amplifier and cassette player, which are installed inside the cloister corridor. (The equipment is housed in a protective case.)

The piece “Echo-system” is constructed with the same (visible) materials as the building to which it refers (bricks, stones (color of the plaster)). The proportions of the structure are roughly equivalent to those of a brick (red, 11 x 22 cm). This piece takes the form of a screen, receptacle, and sensor: of hygrometric variations (water) and sounds related to passage (gravel): a diffusing/transmitting screen that reflects and re-emits what has been absorbed. By directly referencing its sonic and architectural environment, the work attempts to connect the viewer to their own experience of the place through movement: sounds and materials on the one hand, physical and visible elements on the other.