15.07. — 02.08.2020
Halle, Am Wriezener Bahnhof
The sound installation “eleven songs – halle am berghain” transforms the hall at Wriezener Bahnhof into a special sonic space. Conceived especially for the hall, the new work by tamtam (Sam Auinger & Hannes Strobl) uses acoustic means to activate the imposing architecture of this impressive spatial arrangement. Ever new sonic states, moods and sonorous perspectives are revealed to visitors. The entire space is an instrument.
Sam Auinger and Hannes Strobl share a long-running artistic friendship that has expressed itself in a host of collaborative compositions and sound installations. The two Berlin-based artists refer to the series of works developed jointly since 2003 as “farben/raumfarben” (colours/space colours). “farben/raumfarben” are both site-specific long-term compositions and poetic sound spaces in which viewers experience a space as an instrument. The foundation for each composition is formed by the architectonic, functional and social characteristics of the space. These arrangements are reflected in the space’s sonic qualities, in its sounds and their rhythms. Space is not understood here as an inflexible entity for a musical/auditory experience – instead, it is approached as a place in which sound event and architecture interact. The form, volume and materiality of the space are the determining points of reference for the artists.
Their new “raumfarben” work “eleven songs – halle am berghain” is tamtam’s first take on the acoustic colours of the functional architecture of a post-industrial space ensemble. The sound installation is specially conceived for the large boiler room and slag cellar of the former Berlin Friedrichshain district heating plant. The piece transforms the monumental hall, imposing in its sheer size and massive concrete architecture and somewhat hidden behind Berghain’s club rooms, into a unique resonating chamber. With its mighty coal chutes hanging down from the ceiling and massive, over 20-metre-high pillars, the industrial hall serves simultaneously as backdrop and source of productive friction.
In the words of the artist duo:
“eleven songs – halle am berghain” reminds us that the ability of the perceiving body to hear is not a given in itself, but is instead subject to the spatio-social contexts of complex, dynamic and constantly changing acoustic environments. The physically defined situation one encounters, i.e. the acoustics of the space, is activated by sounds and sonic structures produced onsite and tuned for and within the space. These are then distributed and diffused by an array of precisely arranged loudspeakers whose number has been specially optimised for the space (...) Sound installations of the “farben/raumfarben” series of works create a sonic space that plays with the space-time perception of the visitor. The space accelerates and decelerates, becomes lighter and darker. The departure point is the space with its sounds and noises in its architectonic, social, functional and rhythmic structure. From these colours (characteristics) the musical language of the composition, the sonic material and the compositional strategy develop."
Sound in “eleven songs” is always indirect – experienced thanks to and through the space itself. In this manner, the artists’ installation opens up an “auditory dialogue” with the atmospheric qualities of the site.
singuhr — projekte
Halle, Am Wriezener Bahnhof
10243 Berlin
S Ostbahnhof
Admission: 8 — reduced 5€
Opening hours: Wed — Sun 2 — 8 pm
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR YOUR VISIT:
- The basic obligations, protection and hygiene regulations apply to the exhibition
- Access to the exhibition is only permitted with a mask
- Tickets for the exhibition are only available at the cash desk. It is not possible to pay by card
- We will carry out an attendance documentation
- PLEASE NOTICE: Doors close at 7 pm!
Organized by singuhr e.v.
Funded by Hauptstadtkulturfonds
Supported by Berghain and TSE AG
Special thanks to d&b audiotechnik
