[From Singapore’s Today Online; more information is available here]
Of empty spaces filled with sound
Perhaps we are more influenced by technology that we’d like to think
by Melody Lee
Mar 29, 2011
A cacophony of jarring voices and sounds fill the ears, while upon a white wall, the shadows of visitors walking through the exhibit are projected. The sounds are recognisable as a mix of several local radio frequencies that somehow react to the visitors’ shadows.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is Frequency And Volume, an interactive art experience by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.
Interestingly enough, the entire space and structure of this art installation resembles that of a giant open laptop – the white projection wall is the screen while the floor, the keyboard. There are even digits running atop the white projection wall to resembles the familiar time, date, and other such icons we commonly see on laptop screens.
It’s almost as if the visitor has stepped into the virtual world. But like the virtual world, you get a sense that despite being there with others, you’re still pretty much alone – thanks in part to the monotony of the black and white, together with the sparseness of the room.
With everyone and everything cast in shadow – you become nothing more than faceless black shapes projected on the wall.
Most of the time, the shadows cast are bigger than life – is it alluding that technology enables us to hide behind this bigger and powerful facade in virtual reality? And even as we take a closer look at our projected “powerful” selves by walking closer to the wall, we shrink to our normal sizes. All the time you’re still similar to everyone else.
But even as you feel you’ve lost your individuality and colour – thanks to technology – you can’t help but ponder: Is this facelessness half bad?
Colour, age, sex, weight – all the differences in people and, some might say, the main causes of many conflicts – no longer matter here in virtual reality.
The longer one stands there, playing with shadow formations, controlling the sounds, the more this ability to control technology makes us feel powerful. But it makes us feel small, too – our individuality and maybe something more, taken away from us in return for this “greatness”.
Are we controlling technology, or is technology running our lives instead?
As more and more visitors gathered in front of the projection wall, the radio sounds got rowdier and crankier. It almost illustrates the old adage, “empty vessels make the most noise”.
But in this case, perhaps the empty vessels are the emptiness of one’s soul and heart in exchange for the power of technology, and the noise produced symbolises this emptiness.
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Melody Lee, Singapore polytechnic, School of communication, Art and Social Sciences