This series of works explores themes of corporeality, in relation to sound production and audition, touch, and loss. The loudspeakers, microphones, enclosures, and membranes presented in this exhibition are in varying states of disrepair; most are no longer capable of producing sound and thus are poignant objects for meditation on impermanence, bodily frailty, and death. Each of these corpses bear visible marks of violence, traces of past collisions and other wounds which emphatetically encourage viewers to visualize this encounter and the consequential loss of capacity.
See more documentation about the overall project: whensoundends.davidetidoni.name/
projects
WHEN SOUND ENDS
ATTACK / DECAY
Attack/Decay is a night walk where participants are invited to explore the acoustics of specific locations by means of a custom built impulse generator device.
The acoustic qualities and the spatial features of the chosen locations serve as a point of departure for developing site related listening pieces.
Through direct experience, the walk introduces participants to primary acoustic principles and spatial listening, framed as a state of interference and interdependency with the propagation of sound in space.
Technical development by Airborne Instruments.
With the support of Nadine, laboratory for contemporary arts and the VGC.
NEIDERLANT OU NEIDERLANT
In this project, I asked non-native Dutch residents to sing karaoke interpretations of popular Dutch songs. The songs have also been transcribed by the non native speakers according to the (arbitrary) phonetics of their native tongue, highlighting the difficulties in becoming familiar with the sounds of a new language.
The project has been presented as part of the online exhibition Should I Stay Should I Go. The exhibition explored questions around identity and migration viewed through the personal experiences of members of the international artist community in The Hague, Holland. More info here
ALL BODIES END IN SILENCE
The work presents several actions Davide has performed with microphones. These actions reflect on the materiality of the sound devices and explore their corporeal aspects, as sounding bodies that he interacts with in unexpected ways. The actions are developed with a direct dramaturgy, each ending with the death of the microphone and consequent absence of sound. Examples of actions include burning a microphone, leaving it on the rail tracks, launching it into the air with a firework, hitting it with a slingshot, … Davide’s actions explore the ephemeral nature of corporeal existence through the presence, absence, and disappearance of sound as a metaphor for life and death.
VIDEO LIST:
Departure [02':40'']
Cut-off [01':38'']
Falling Apart [03':24'']
Until When It Dies [06':10'']
He Hears The Silence So Loud [02':19'']
Untitled [03':08'']
My Target Is Your Eyes [02':34'']
As The Sound Burns [03':38'']
Davide Tidoni: locations, actions, sound, video, editing.
Videos produced by Overtoon and Davide Tidoni.
Thanks to sander, flo, FS, SNCB, a bas la maxi-prison, paolo ruaro, martino, loes@nadine, giammo, eugenio, almarosa, marzi, bam bam bam bam !!!
THE SOUND OF WHITE NOISE
The Sound of White Noise is an audio piece consisting of a series of listening instructions that are broadcasted on the radio and performed by the radio listeners at home. The instructions are about specific body positions and movements that the listeners have to perform in relation to the sound system they are using and the space where they are. A recorded voice gives the instructions and guides the listeners through the entire duration of the piece. Each instruction invites the listeners to interact with the white noise that is diffused through the radio. The movements and gestures that the listeners perform modify the stream of white noise that is diffused in the room and the way it is perceived.
The piece has been broadcasted on the 29th of April 2015 on Deutschland Radio Kultur. A french version of the piece has been realized in 2017 (produced by ACSR, Brussels) and received a mention at the Phonurgia Nova Prix Art Sonore, Paris 2017.
LISTENING SCORES
The project consist of a series of listening scores that I have developed since 2009 as part of my research on sound, space, and the body. The final version of the first 8 pieces has been completed in 2016 with a residency at Overtoon and an exhibition at iMAL. A book publication containing the first 8 pieces + other 20 new ones is currently under development and will be published in 2023.
DOWNLOAD THE PDF BOOKLET WITH THE SCORES
Concept & realisation: Davide Tidoni / Production: Davide Tidoni / Graphics: Davide Tidoni & Marzia Dalfini / Editor: Brian Shabaglian.
NIGHT WALKS
Night Walks was presented at Où sont les sons? Where Are Sounds?. Centrale for Contemporary Arts, Brussels. Curated by Nicole Gingras. More about the walks.
EXAGGERATED FOOTSTEPS
In the video I activate the different acoustics of an empty building by means of a pair of metal plates attached to my shoes.
IN THE BLINK OF AN EAR
In the video I activate the acoustics of an empty factory by hitting the wall with a stick. To visually emphasize the sound of the hit, I adopt the association: silence=black / sound=light.
A BALLOON FOR LINZ
A Balloon for Linz brings to light the acoustic response of specific locations in Linz. Together with the video, a series of exploratory walks were organized in the city of Linz. Participants were invited to pop balloons and listen to the acoustic architecture of the urban space. The project received an honorary mention at the Prix Ars Electronica 2011.