Florian Hecker at Chisenhale Gallery

The next week or so is the last chance to see Florian Hecker's electro-accoustic installation at the Chisenhale Gallery in East London.  The exhibition is made up of a set of works that use a sequence of tones to create an orchestrated mass of varying aural experiences that alter as you move around the open space.

With only yourself and the speakers occupying the vast gallery, the sound creates a bodily experience in which you are lead around by your ears and the sensation of comprehending a set of mixed aural signals which become almost overwhelming.  The monophonic tones suggest you are hearing one sound when up close to the speaker and something different as you move away as the tones merge into a near symphonic vibration.

At a talk given by Hecker's philosophical collaborator Robin Mackay, What is an (auditory) object?, the sound was discussed in relation to perception-as-hallucination and in comparison to theories of the eye-brain, in terms of painting.  But I was particularly interested in his interpretation of sound as not just performative, but dramatised.  This has me thinking about the sensation of hearing perception as something as much dramatised by the act of perception as by the performance of sound.

Florian Hecker's exhibition is on at the Chisenhale until 28th March 2010.