THE VESSEL
three-channel video installation, 1h, stereo sound, 2021
‘The vessel’ is an installation of three video projections combined with a pink noise soundscape. The public is invited into a black box that is standing in a pitch-black room, the three contiguous walls of this black box show video projections, accompanied by a soundscape coming from two speakers hanging above.
The video projections are selected fragments of old Super 8 film material from my maternal grandparents, who were inland shipmen between Holland, Belgium and Germany throughout the 70’s. The fragments contain passing landscapes, moving water and snapshots of life on deck.
The three projections are one and the same loop, but they all start at a different time, thus creating three different projections at any given moment, but still familiar to the audience. The images are projected at eye level, in a size in resemblance of a window. This way the viewer can imagine standing in the cabin of the ship, but because of the dark surroundings, the nostalgic images and the meditative soundscape more like in a dreamlike state, than trying to mimic reality.
Pink noise mimics sound signals of biological systems through the cyclical sounds of nature, such as rain, wind, rustling leaves or as in this case: water. Although this noise is purely synthesized, as soon as it gets combined with the video images situated on the ship, showing water in almost every frame, the brain automatically makes us believe we are listening to real water.
There are different layers of waves in the soundscape, varying in speed and intensity, and sometimes a far away ship/foghorn is added into the mix, supportingthe overall hypnotic ambience of the installation. Seagull sounds are added to reinforce the nostalgic feeling and are an almost classic sound to stir a memory.
Pink noise has the quality to filter out all other sounds around us, helping people fall asleep or keep them longer in a deep state of sleep. Combining these qualities with the nostalgic super8 movie projections and the blackbox setting, results in a meditative experience for the visitors.
Thus the intention is for the viewer to be immersed in his or her inner world of memories through this meditation, meticulously crafted out of other’s memories.
in the frame of a residency at Het Bos art center, Antwerp, Belgium
sound production Jago Moons
Supported through a grant by BREEDBEELD
installation view at Het Bos, Antwerp, 2021
installation view at Espace Vanderborght, Brussels, 2021