Research
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In creating my sculptural sound piece, 'Enclosed' I was inspired by the idea of monoliths, particularly in relation to their imposing, encroaching presence on the audience. Throughout later 2020 and early 2021, artist's installed various monolith-like structures around the globe, much to the puzzlement of the general audience. I found these stark, intimidating structures to create a stark contrast with the landscape, and was curious to imitate the structure in my own work. Particularly, I liked the idea of an almost wariness when approaching my own work, as ultimately evident through the suppressive nature of the piece.
Cildo Meireles, 'Babel' (2001)
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In creating my sculptural sound piece, 'Enclosed' I researched into various combinations of sound and sculptural installations. One such piece I liked was Cildo Meireles's 'Babel'. I was particularly intrigued by the artist’s use of sound and imposing, physical height to create confusion in the viewer. The Tate notes that ‘the sound gives the whole structure an eerie effect and adds to the sense of phenomenological and perceptual confusion’.[1] This idea of confusion and phenomenology is relevant to my idea of monoliths, particularly their current context in the media. In creating this structure, Miereles dominates the viewer, creating a feeling of entrapment that I wished to imitate. Whilst Miereles included conflicting human sounds via his use of radios, I wanted to go back to my use of plastic and its materiality. As such, I imitated Miereles’s conflicting sounds using plastic materiality, and included the use of headphones to allow for a further enclosed experience.
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[1] Tate, ‘Cildo Meireles, 'Babel', 2001’. [online] Available at: <https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/meireles-babel-t14041> [Accessed 2 February 2022].
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