site-specific sound sculpture
two heating shafts (2ft x 2ft x 3ft), 375 kg of salt, audio recording, mono speaker
108 min
This piece was created by slowly filling one of the underfloor ventilation shafts with 375 kg of rock salt. A large scaffolding was used to slowly filter the grains of salt into the shaft from about 5ft above the floor. The sound of the falling salt was captured by an array of microphones, each capturing the character and timbre of the grains from different heights and perspectives. The process took 108 minutes, resulting in a delicate pyramid of salt emerging from the grate at the far-left corner of the gallery – reminiscent of the pyramid type shapes created during salt-harvesting practices.
A mono speaker in the far-right shaft plays the audio mix of this process, projecting the granular rhythm into the gallery. The visual and the auditory exist in dialogue across the space as reflections of one another.
The sound is tactile and percussive, yet ambiguous and subtle, allowing listeners to interpret it as falling rain or white noise as it diffuses through the large gallery space. Throughout the piece, the sound shifts and evolves, tracing the contours and acoustics of the shaft while capturing the quiet drama of accumulation. In this way, the work becomes a meditation on material, time, and the poetic resonance of everyday processes.
photo by Andy Keate, courtesy of South London Gallery
Re-imaginations of this piece:
- 18-channel diffusion at Lush Spectra (2017) in Sheffield UK, curated by Mark Fell.
- Solo listener version (mono mix) for The Sound of Distance (2021) at the HKW in Berlin DE, curated by Jan St Werner.
crys cole 