Forest in a Forest: An Audio-Visual Appreciation

“He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it” – Isaiah 44:14

The forest is ancient, an eternal symbol of growth. It is the lungs of the planet and nourisher of life. Throughout history humankind has altered its relationship with the forest. In several periods and after detaching from nature, humans seek the embrace of the forest again, like children missing their mother’s arms. After the industrial revolution in late 19th Century the relationship between man and the forest changed dramatically. Humankind alienated itself from nature. This detachment nowadays has reached a peak characterized by

the coming of the digital age and the western way of life. Yet people have grown wiser and are much more aware of the need to return to the ways of nature. Following the examples of native civilizations we observe among modern societies the desire to be close to the roots of a tree. This effort is translated by individual activities or on an organized level by supporting green energy and the re-planting of annihilated forests.

The audio-visual presentation Forest in a Forest by Naama Kostiner and Luc Messinezis was an effort to outline the importance of the forest in our lives. Naama with the lens as an extension of her being, captured images, moments, stills which transformed into memories of a place that is so far yet so close to us. In a similar way, the aural presentation and phonographic work of Messinezis was an effort to capture time and space and relocate it within the context of a gallery in the village of Ein Hod- which is itself surrounded by the forest of the ancient Carmel Mountains. Visual and aural elements co-existed in the space of the gallery. The frame which is timeless and still, transfered the notion of the object; while the waveform, dependent on time, carried the notion of event. Sound and Vision became the two elements of a counterpoint composition where two independent ‘voices’ met and created space within space in perfect harmony.

P[ear]ception

Perception defines the way an individual experiences matter. The sound art installation P[ear]ception responds to this notion using sound as a medium for artistic exploration.

Messinezis captures a soundscape – an environmental recording of Mount Carmel, near Haifa, Israel – and places it into a different space, out of its original context. Using this phonographic work as base material, the recorded sound matter shifts through four different points of acoustic perception just like paint over a white canvas. The forest is explored in the same way four different painters would experience and then express life; each one in their own unique way.

P[ear]ception

The installation P[ear]ception was exhibited at the Levendel-Bloch Gallery, Ein Hod Artists village in Israel from the 11th of December to the 18th of December 2009.

Duration: 09:58 loop
Structure: A forest/A surreal painting of a forest/A mosaic of a forest/A dream of a forest.

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Wunderkammer: The Sound Cabinet of Curiosities

Wunderkammer; The Sound Cabinet of Curiosities was a sound art installation aiming to stimulate the imagination and challenge the perception of the individual that would experience it. It Drew inspiration from the historical cabinets of curiosities that first appeared during the 14th Century around Europe and are considered to have been the first form of the modern museum

The installation was a collection of strange, unearthly, wondrous and fascinating sound objects. The artist adopted the the role of a curator or a collector and turned himself into an audio alchemist, who while searching for his philosopher stone, stumbled across numerous objects, gathered them and exhibited them in order to share his findings with the audience.

The concept was realized using the Choroechoic compositional strategy. This form of composition, introduced here by the artist, uses as starting materials concrete sonorous objects that acquire the attributes of physical ones. After having their temporal characteristics eliminated, these sound objects are defined by the artist as Choroechons.The Sound Cabinet of Curiosities is the first Choroechoic piece; a composition through which the terms ‘Structuring materials’ reclaims its literal meaning.

Wunderkammer: the Sound Cabinet of Curiosities was exhibited  the 27th of November 2008 at the IMT Gallery, London as part of the Sound Art exhibition and symposium “Audio Forensics”.

For more information on the exhibition please visit: imagemusictext.com

For information about Choroechoic composition feel free to contact the artist.