Meta.Morf 2018 / Trondhjems Kunstforening
15.03-22.04.2018
10-channel sound installation

Treverk is an ongoing series of installations based on audio recordings of minuscule movements in trees. Changes in the electrical conductivity in two of the installations logs controls the sound played from the exhibitions other trees.

By using surface transducers, the sound is influenced by the logs in real time, making the trees integral parts of the installation’s speaker system.

The trees used in the work were already felled or had broken due to heavy winds, snow, or wood rot before Blattmann began working with them.

Meta.Morf 2018 – Joakim Blattmann

Meta.Morf Catalog Text:
In the exhibition Treverk (8) at Trondhjems Kunstforening, Joakim Blattmann will present sculptural works based on audio recordings of the minuscule movements in trees. In this way, these works materialize sound that we are often unaware of, making the active existence inside of living organisms present.

Treverk is a series of sound installations based on audio recordings of the minuscule movements of trees. The trees in which the recordings were originally captured make up the sculptural components of the installation. Transducers have been attached to the trees allowing the sound to be affected by the wood in real time, emphasizing wood as living rather than inanimate matter.

In the exhibition, visitors will encounter a variety of wood sculptures that actively fill the space with sound. The works range from small to larger structures that have been “colonized” by technology. In the context of these sculptures, technology is a tool that helps us hear something that would otherwise be unavailable to our senses. In this way, these works materialize sound that we are often unaware of, making the active existence inside of living organisms present.

By combining sound technology, materials from nature and the artistic medium of sculpture, Blattmann ́s work explores the complexity of the auditory information that surrounds us. Chance events and complex systems mix in a hybrid natural world where nature and technology are in dialog, in need of each other to bring forward their full potential.

Curator: Elena Perez

Treverk (8) was supported by Fond for Lyd og Bilde, and Trondheim Kommune.

Many thanks also to Greger Stolt Nilsen, Patrick Bøen Sigtun, Ricardo del Pozo, Håvard Stamnes and Trondheim Bydrift for various assistance.