Manifesta purposely strives to keep its distance from what are often seen as the dominant centres of artistic production, instead seeking fresh and fertile terrain for the mapping of a new cultural topography.
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Timo Kahlen, DE
Timo Kahlen, Swarm, 2008. Photo © Wolfgang Träger / Manifesta 7.
8-channel sound sculpture at Fortezza / Franzensfeste fortress: steel construction (800 x 100 x 100 cm), enclosing the sound and vibration of bees
Timo Kahlen’s acoustic interventions aim at filling a specific site with complex, artificial or descriptive sounds that are a brought across via a certain object. His installations are mostly based on a scientific reflection of sounds and nature. For his project in Fortezza / Franzensfeste Timo Kahlen opts to address the visitors when they make their very first steps into the courtyard of the Fortress. The sound sculpture SWARM emits an altered, abstracted, recomposed sound of bees, encased within a metal construction. Humming calmly, then becoming distorted, slightly agitated, progressively more aggressive, the installation creates acoustic chaos and even a perceptible vibration from inside the encasement, before returning to a softly buzzing hum. The military function of the fortress is mirrored in the construction of the sculpture. Its shape is defensive, armored with riveted sheets of steel, evoking the form of an object of warfare. Its potential for aggression and its aura of alertness reflects the color and consistency of the granite stone and monochrome roof tiles of the fortress. It becomes integrated into the site. During the exhibition, rust will gradually change the metal surface of Kahlen’s sound object.