COASTGUARD, 2020, Plaster and polyurethane foam, PVC pipes, 400cm x 50cm
Coastguard is a sound installation consists of distorted megaphones made of polyurethane foam castings. The megaphones stand on PVC pipes (four meters height each), which associate with P.A. systems that are very common on beaches and prisons. Some of the sculptures contain a hidden audio speaker that occasionally plays fragments of the artist's singing.
Detail from Coastguard, 2020
The project’s motivation is to sculpt sound and explore its visual qualities: shape, form, color and texture. It is an attempt to perceive an audio device as a silent and muted object, which is supported by the fact that Polyurethane foam is often used to isolate the sound acoustically and mute background noises in recording studios for example. At the same time, the object that had lost its function is trying to capture sound with visual means. The different deviations, unexpected and spontaneous areas of the sculptures, where the material has accumulated as part of the casting process, were positioned on the diameter horn of the megaphones. That spot is where the sound comes out to the listener's ear, and in this work becomes a physical matter, which we can see, touch, feel and eventually hear.
Detail from Coastguard, 2020
