In its most simple version, the sound installation “TEKTONIK” consists of four single objects. Depending on the condition and size of the space in question the number of objects can be varied. These consist of two thin square aluminium sheets (75 cm x 75 cm) that are suspended horizontally at a height of approx. 160 cm. The two sheets are connected approx. 3 cm apart by bolts in each corner. A thin wire is attached to the centre of each of the plates with butterfly anchors, one wire leading to the ceiling and one to the floor. They are mounted to the ceiling and floor with vibration transducers, which transfer oscillations over the wire to the sheets. The construction is self-supporting. An 8-channel composition is played between the objects and the sheets function as loudspeaker diaphragms. The spatial arrangement of the objects is aligned to the geometrical and acoustic conditions of the space.
The work symbolizes an encounter of two acoustic levels in the vertical axis within each object. Here the architectural analogy of a “suspended ceiling” or a vertical reduction of a high ceiling in a room is mirrored. The resulting “unknown” zone that remains concealed is adapted in the space-producing sound composition. The sounds and the time-based structure of the composition consist of nature sounds (field recordings) and artificial modulated oscillator tones. The sound recordings assign an isolated sound space to each individual object whereas the oscillator tones are not confined to the boundaries of the object and by nature have their own spatial character. This sensitizes and calibrates the acoustic space perception of the viewer as they move through the installation. The arrangement of the sounds in the composition and their spatial positioning (horizontal and vertical) is narrative (tectonic). The symbol of the tectonic shift, a geological term, is generated by the soundscapes moving between the single objects. The boundaries of the sound space created by the “suspended ceiling” blur as the objects visually merge with their surrounding environment in daylight.
