SURVEILLANCE EXCAVATIONS

Exhibited at Haus des Rundfunks, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany

Installed in the entranceway of Berlin’s Haus des Rundfunk to celebrate the opening concert of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin’s Mensch Musik! series in collaboration with Catalyst Institute. “Surveillance Excavations” is a kinetic sound installation that uses ultrasonic speakers and archival field recordings of East-West Berlin to examine the idea of sonic borders. Unlike traditional speakers, ultrasonic speakers form a highly directional laser beam of sound, resulting in highly personalized listening experiences as well as hyper focused room reflections. Mounted on motorized lights and scanning around the room, the piece moves around the audience ‘whispering’ in visitors’ ears – often appearing silent to many visitors – while at the same time tracing the architecture of the room and creating a sonic imprint of the space through historical soundscapes.