Resonant Bodies at V&A

Written by caroline

There are just two more days to catch my new sound installation, Resonant Bodies, which is installed in the South Asia Gallery of the V&A Museum, South Kensington for London Design Festival which runs from 15-23 Sept 2018.

Commissioned by Prof Eric de Visscher and V&A Research Institute (VARI), Resonant Bodies is a 4 channel work that brings the sounds of a number of 19th century Indian classical instruments to life on the glass of their display case. The work is diffused via resonators attached to the case that cause the surface of the glass to vibrate with recordings of the sounds of the instruments – effectively acting as a giant speaker and allowing the ordinarily silent instruments within the case to ‘speak’ to a visitor.

I used recordings of similar instruments as a starting point for the composition. One of those recordings is of the actual Bin Sitar in the case that was restored and played for the Darbar Musical Wonders of India project a few years ago and I must admit it is an extraordinary experience looking at the object within the case and hearing its sound emanate from the glass.

Resonant Bodies is free to visit, just drop in during V&A opening hours til 23 Sept.

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