Els Viaene
Els Viaene (°1979, Belgium) started her work as a sound artist / field recordist in 2001. With a set-up of two small microphones she listens, zooms into and enlarges the aural landscapes surrounding us. The natural rhythms and textures of the sounds hidden in those landscapes form the basis of her work.
Working on these sound materials for performances, sound compositions or installations she makes the listeners travel in imaginary and organic environments. Through the specific use and set-up of sound within a space her installations create new spaces within existing ones, either emphasizing or making dissapear the physical borders of that space.
In doing so she often plays with the notions of seeing and hearing, the perception of what we see and hear and how both interfere.
Figures of Thought
An intimate viewing box with smoke, sound, and light draws you into a paradoxical story of presence and absence.
Light, smoke, and sound are ephemeral phenomena. We perceive them, but we cannot grasp them. They are simultaneously present and absent. This viewing box by Els Viaene gives shape to precisely that fleeting aspect of reality, “nothingness.” She creates an intimate interplay between these three ephemeral phenomena, thus making the invisible visible. The light—which itself is invisible—makes the smoke visible; the smoke, in turn, makes the sound visible. In reality, there is nothing in the box, yet simultaneously, so much is happening. The artist reflects on these paradoxes. Is there more than just what we see and hear?
