Quaver
2018, 2019
Stone veneer, exciter speaker, low-frequency sound
Exhibited at Sculpture at Scenic World, Katoomba 2018 and North Sydney Art Prize, The Coal Loader, Waverton 2019
Quaver explores notions of illusion, dissonance and simulation. The artwork is an installation that investigates illusory sonification by resonating low-frequency sound through stone veneers. Quaver is the product of a collaborative investigation between two emerging artists, with a focus on a process of material experimentation. In their investigation, the artists were drawn to the subtle movements and vibrations that occurred in the undergrowth of the expansive rainforest. The work explores these fractional vibrations that often dissolve into the immensity of the ecosystem. Quaver mimics the play of scale between small vibrations and large spaces to generate a site of intervention where man-made materials rupture the natural environment. The malleable stone skin defies expectations in its weightlessness and curved form. Concealed under the surfaces are transducer speakers, which vibrate the stone and amplify the low-frequency sound. The stone shudders, making it seem as though it is alive, and as light and growing as the flora it is surrounded by. These simulated shivers, in comparison to the immense rainforest, create a sensation of new life and growth in the expansive landscape.