Shade and Silence waken up as one

A site specific concert installation for the  exhibition spaces of Bergen Kunsthall,  multi channels sound system, lighting and vintage bass ampifier. Commissioned by Bergen Kunsthall in 2014.

Set around two instant memory flashes; a phrase from an english poem and a mid-concert reflection on the sound of Bergen Kunsthall’s peculiar reverb, “Shade and Silence woven into One” is directly linked to the building, the people that work there and the institutions role in the Bergen art scene.

The audience is placed in the centre of the building, listening to the acoustic signature of the surroundings while a multi channel sound system excites walls, ceilings and floors. Kunsthallen is rendered as a giant stereo system , adressing one´s left and right while toying with the idea of acousmatic listening, hearing and listening without knowledge of the source of the sound. The empty room with its withe gallery walls becomes an emblem for the sound, replacing the utopian ideal of neutrality in electronic music with all the connotations connected to a white cube.

Habbestad draws upon his experience as both an artist, composer and record producer while targeting the specificity of this building. Recontextualisation of artistic leftovers and concepts from earlier productions is a trademark in his artistic practice, as is the case this time. Together with other artists like Lemur, Benjamin Maumus and Pascal Balthazar, Habbestad has explored acoustics as the entry point for artistic investigation of sound and music in a series of projects.

SSWUAO was presented as a part of Klangkammer – a three part exhibition with works by Marina Rosenfeld, Asbjørn Blokkum Flø and Bjørnar Habbestad.