An incendiary mixture consumes the membrane of a loudspeaker, devouring its insides.
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/
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 !!!
Two microphones are used as a pair of drumstick to play the snare drum. The recordings explore the physical properties and affordances of the microphone as an object. The work is part of a series of actions that investigate the practical materiality of the microphone and violate the basic rules and principles of audio technology. More actions here.
A microphone is placed at the side of a road. A performer is positioned on the opposite side of the road and pulls the microphone from the cable. The microphone keeps crossing the road until it is suddenly hit by passing cars.
A microphone moves closer and closer to a passing train and eventually gets hit by it. In this work, the microphone is exposed to the consequences of breaking the (safety) distance limit which usually/conventionally separates it from the sound source.
Two microphones are used as a pair of drumstick to play the snare drum. The recordings explore the physical properties and affordances of the microphone as an object. The work is part of a series of actions that investigate the practical materiality of the microphone and violate the basic rules and principles of audio technology. More actions here.
A performer swings a microphone in the air and loosen the cable a few more inches with each turn. The action continues until the cable is long enough that the microphone crashes against the wall.
The performance is a metaphor about becoming aware of one own’s limitations.
Rough docu here: https://vimeo.com/114553487 (password: “nevertoofar”)
photo by Luca Ghedini
A performer tries to hit a microphone with a slingshot. The impact of the hit is amplified and diffused at high volume from a loudspeaker. The amplification of the hit allows the thrower to experience the “sensitivity” of the microphone, or in other words: to understand and share the feelings of another body.