školská 28

Curated by: Michal Kindernay

A project by the Flemish artists Gert Aertsen and David de Buyser, A State of Stability is based on research and artistic interpretation of perceiving time through sound, light and movement. Independent from philosophical definitions of time, there exists something like an “operational” definition. A unit of time determines recurring observations of a repetitive phenomenon (just as day and night define sunrise and sunset). However, variations of natural cycles are frequently unpredictable and unstable, and in the long term, the resulting artworks by means of the technological approach of inventive artists. Interaction is, in this case, many times nearly hidden. It persists between a condition or way of being that exists at a particular time; the present situation (state) and a situation in which something is not likely to move or change; the ability of an object to maintain equilibrium or resume its original position (stability).

The last version of the project, which was recently presented during the Alotof festival in Brussels, reflects cyclic events in the “dynamic” perception of time in the urban environment. Prototypes of objects and interactive tools were installed site-specifically in a number of artists’s studios, and during the festival, were open for public.

Gert Aertsen integrates his installation Aargh into the spatial situation of Školská 28 gallery. The Aargh is a system embodied in a phonetic apparatus which includes a series of resonators, whistles and reeds. Voices penetrate the quiet gallery space through cracks and vents from noisy urban ambience. The installation was inspired by the famous inventor and artist Wolfgang Von Kempelenm, who developed and instrument that imitates the human voice. Aargh was presented recently by being placed inside (for one example) the ventilation system in the highrise clerical Overtoon Building in Brussels. The energy of the wind though through the building was thus able to speak to the building’s inhabitants.

David De Buyser presents two sound installations. Fetish, a post-modern totemic interactive sound sculpture that generates sound depending on the intensity of light. The second installation is the bio-electronic synthesiser Fungus-Box, which plays in accordance with the growth of mold cultures.

Gert Aertsen is an artist, organiser, technician and programmer. He has collaborated, for instance, with Code31, a study for development, research and discussion on techniques and methodology in new media. In 2014, he co-established OKNO, an artist-run organisation in Brussels. From 2004, he supports a media laboratory and teaches at thee Institut of Art in Brussels and HISK in Gent.

David De Buyer is a composer, musician and vocalist. He works in theatre as a technician, sound engineer and musician. He has collaborated with Hanneke Paauwe, Judith Nab and Iris Vancauwenberghe, among others. He has composed soundtracks for the films of Soléne Coignard and Valentijn Kint. He often collaborates on audiovisual installations. He lives and works in Brussels.

The exhibition A State of Stability was prepared in collaboration with yo-yo, a nonprofit organisation.