north of a solid ground
Double-sided vinyl or digital file. A SIDE 17:37, B SIDE 15:53; Clear filament 3D reproduction of the reference concrete construction block
North of a Solid Ground translates the physical topology of a common concrete block into a sound expression through databending in two sections to present the structural systems that give concrete its structural and functional qualities of endurance.
The sound work was produced in 2020, when I found a concrete block at the edge of a parking lot in Canberra, amidst the severe bushfires that ravaged Southeastern Australia and before the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, the concrete block was peripheral; unremarkable. However, by March, as drought conditions eased with regular rainfall and the pandemic took hold globally, the block began came to symbolise persistence as it sat unaffected by the environmental and societal upheavals around it.
The methodology of creating the sound work was inspired a sonification project called ‘Sounds of the Sun’ developed by the European Space Agency and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, which sonified data from the sun's atmosphere. Instead of light data to create a sound expression (sonnification), to produce North of a Solid Ground I used photogrammetry to convert the concrete block into 3D geometry and then into sound (databending), which illuminates both the tangible and intangible aspects of the block, making its combined material properties and abstract qualities available through audio.
North of a Solid Ground engages with the concept of the 'hyper-object,' a term coined by Timothy Morton to describe objects that are massively distributed in time and space, transcending human perception. The sound expression of the concrete block embodies this idea by translating its tangible, everyday presence into an abstract form that surpasses the immediate physicality of the object. By creating a a sound expression of the concrete block, the work makes perceptible the underlying structures and material systems that are otherwise inaccessible to the senses, positioning the block as a hyper-object that reflects the vast, interconnected systems of geology, time, and environment.
This transformation into sound reveals the block's participation in larger networks of persistence and change, echoing the enduring and elusive nature of hyper-objects in our world. The sound expression also poses the complexity of what it would mean if all of the world’s concrete was to resonate at once.
Curatorial note: The sound expression can be adjusted to meet different presentation needs; it can be played on loop as a digital track or played on a unique, transparent vinyl record that shows the sound expression in its object form, and with or without a clear 3D print of the refence concrete block. The sound experience can be supported by beds of sheet concrete arranged in a grid, or in other formats in consultation with curators, as either an experience with headphones, or through speakers as required.
