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«Pièce de souffle» - 1992 -"piece of breath"

sound sculpture, 2 metal frame, pvc pipe, sodium silicate, 2 speakers, amplifier, magnetic tape loop 3’, 2 audio player  dim : 3.3 x 3.3 x 0.5 ft each

 

This piece was exhibited in the transepts of the Val de Vesles chapel (Reims) in July 1994, at the Regional Contemporary Art Fund of Brittany in Rennes in November 1994, at the Charleroi Contemporary Art Biennial (Belgium) in 1995, and at the Ardennes Museum in Charleville-Mézières in 1997. The exhibited piece was conceived in relation to the configuration of the space; in terms of its format (based on the architecture), the materials used (colors, textures), the climatic conditions (humidity), and finally, the acoustic characteristics (resonance, sound reverberation). When visitors enter the exhibition space, they initially perceive only a sound: the sound of breathing (inhalation/exhalation), as the installation of the pieces on the floor is not visible.

The sound is broadcast in stereo (left: exhalation sound, right: inhalation sound). The sound installation thus fills the entire space, inviting the viewer to continue their exploration in order to determine the location of the sound source. This piece primarily explores the notion of immersion and a discrepancy in perception (what I hear is not what I see, what I perceive is not what is looking at me). The visitor is not only taken as a witness but also participates as an active subject in the creation of the piece. At the level of the transepts, the floor-level pieces are visible, connected to each other by a transparent plastic tube. One tank (on the right) broadcasts an inhalation sound (continuously) and contains sodium silicate granules placed on a non-waterproof canvas; the other tank (on the left) broadcasts an exhalation sound (continuously) and retains a thin stream of transparent water trickling down the surface of a waterproof white canvas.

 

The right-hand piece absorbs, through its surface (sodium silicate), the moisture released by the viewer's respiration (the greater the number of visitors, the greater the ambient humidity), mixed with the humidity of the exhibition space. The left-hand piece diffuses the viewers' respiration, transformed into liquid form (water) drop by drop, onto the surface of the canvas. The water collected in the right-hand tank—exhaled—is carried by the plastic tube (intermediary, communication and diffusion channel). This exchange, this transfer from one place to another, from one receptacle to the other, this communication across the gap (of sound and space) is made possible by the principle of communicating vessels. What I see is caused by my presence; what I hear is none other than the sound that brings what I see to life. This piece becomes autonomous once installed; it functions through the presence of viewers, or dries up in their absence. The water collected and diffused over the exhalation surface evaporates and is then reabsorbed by the inhalation surface. The room then operates in a closed circuit (cycle).