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3/7/2012

Gordon Monahan and Robert Henke

Singuhr - Horgalerie, Berlin

The two historic water reservoirs in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district have housed the singuhr sound gallery since 2007. Both subterranean reservoirs near the Wasserturm have since evolved into a venue for unusual acoustic experiments, tonal and visual explorations and exhibition projects conceived for the space. This year, the singuhr sound gallery presents a large double exhibition in the water reservoirs (opening on July 4). “Ewige Dunkelheit” (Eternal Darkness), a sound installation by Berlin composer and sound artist Robert Henke (aka monolake) in the Large Water Reservoir, promises to illuminate the genre boundaries of spatial composition and installation. It is based on a composition that changes over time, in which polymorphic sound structures move through the imposing vaults of the space in ever new acoustic fractures and twists. The compository idea, the strictness and consistency of its musical form and its spatial structure refer to central features of the reservoir in several respects: its cathedral-like labyrinthine character with up to 7 metre high brick walls, its “dark” ambient and the acoustic conditions with reverberation periods of up to 18 seconds.

Parallel to this, the singuhr presents a new work by Canadian artist Gordon Monahan in the Small Water Reservoir. In his sound installation “Resonant Platinum Records” resonating metal records with iridescent oscillating sounds are played in the space. In total, twelve of these approximately 40 cm large “platinum records” are suspended on steel wires under the vaults – and spread out through the entire area of the reservoir. Small electric motors that are controlled individually cause the wires to oscillate. The sound and intensity of the records’ resonances change according to the original sound source. Using this unusual sound generator, Monahan realizes a 12-channel, accessible composition with finely nuanced, metallic sounds. The oscillating sounds of the records seem to dissolve the heaviness of the vaulted architecture. Accompanying the two exhibition projects in the water reservoirs is an installation by Californian artist Steve Roden at Kunsthaus Meinblau (Pfefferberg, Haus 5, opening on 11 July). “Rag Picking” straddles the boundaries between art, sound and media, providing an unusual way of accessing Walter Benjamin’s writings.“Rag Picking” is based on Roden’s analysis of the writings in the Benjamin archives at the Akademie der Künste Berlin. As Roden himself does not understand German, the visual qualities alone of the corrections, comments and colour coding Benjamin used when composing his texts provide the structure for a total of four works that use different media (sound, video, graphics) to illuminate the various aspects of Benjamin's "notations".

Press contact: Bluhm PR Sylke Bluhm Tel 030 24 08 47 88 E-Mail info@bluhmpr.de

Opening on Wed 4 July at 6 p.m.

Singuhr - Horgalerie
Wasserspeicher Prenzlauer Berg - Berlin
Open: Wed – Sun 2 p.m. – 8 p.m., Long Night: Sun, 2 September til midnight
Entry: 4 Euro/ reduced 3 Euro, U2 Senefelderplatz, M2 Metzer Straße singuhr hoergalerie at Kunsthaus Meinblau

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