A 16-channel generative, site-specific composition, this collaboration with sculptor Philip Krohn was installed on the banks of the Willamette River for six weeks during the summer of 2022. Visitors traveled through a 300-meter long boardwalk of undulating wooden forms, woven from salvaged strips and lashed with recycled inner tubes. Beyond the boardwalk, a path led to a grassy point perched on the river, where a 50-foot diameter wooden bench sat among blackberries and wildflowers. Emerging from the bench itself, pings, chirps, tones and waves arced across the air. In ever-changing combinations, these electronic calls, whistles and roars mimicked and played with already-occurring elements of the densely-populated site, such as highway traffic, train rumble, birds, crickets, and the shouts of dragonboat crews.
The installation technology was completely unseen, with vibrations sent directly into the bench by 16 equally-spaced transducers. Audio panning behaviors ranged from slow pulses to random scatterings and audio-rate circling. From the center of the circle, the complex acoustics of each uniquely resonant soundboard created a virtual sonic theater, held among and within the existing soundscape. Lower frequencies and vibrations could be experienced through the body when seated, revealing a new sensorial layer. The generative composition wafted and waned, new voices and combinations emerging gradually. The site also served as a space for musical performances, and several musicians chose to improvise with the sounds of the installation.
Aug – Sept, 2022
Zidell Shipyards, Portland OR
Seth Nehil 