Images

Seacording (underwater installation)

February 10, 2018 — Image

The heart of Seacording installation is a tub which is placed near a sauna or swimming place etc. The tub it is open for all visitors. When the visitor goes to the tub and dive, s-/he hears a sound work from the underwater speakers. No sound is heard outside of the tub.

The work was commissioned by Finnish Institute, Stockholm, for Tempo documentary festival in 2017. It was also installed at the Art Fair Suomi 2017 festival in Kaapelitehdas.

Seacording 1

April 14, 2017 — Image

Seacording 1

2016

A sound work based on underwater recordings at Baltic Sea.

Created in collaboration with SYKE, the Finnish Environmental Institute.

Image: European Maritime Days conference, Turku, May 18th, 2016.

Spindrift (reconstruction)

April 13, 2017 — Image

Spindrift

1966

An experimental computer film by Jan Bark and Erkki Kurenniemi.

The original film is lost.

Reconstructed in 2013 from the work tapes found from the Swedish archives by Mika Taanila (film) and Petri Kuljuntausta (music).

Whistles, Trills & Clicks

April 8, 2017 — Image

Whistles, Trills & Clicks

(2008)
13:30
Composition based on nightingale song and images, analogue audio feedback, analogue video feedback, white noise and live processing

Commissioned by NightinGala festival.
Recorded live at NightinGala, June 12, 2008, Järvenpää.

Petri Kuljuntausta: composition, live sound processing, audio feedback
Sami van Ingen: live video screening and processing, video feedback

Whistles, Trills & Clicks was commissioned by NightinGala festival which was held in June 2008 at Järvenpää, Finland. The festival gathered first time together the world’s leading nightingale specialists, who attended to Finland to offer the latest scientific findings on the singing style and acoustic communication of the nightingales. Along with the scientific conference was arranged a concert series. All commissioned composers, performers and artists were invited to create a new work based on nightingale singing. Petri Kuljuntausta and Sami van Ingen created a duo live performance entitled ‘Whistles, Trills and Clicks’. The sound material used in the work contains nightingale singing (processed and real), white noise and feedback sound which was controlled live.

Real time image manipulation (monitor to camera feedback) of found footage images.

Five Fragments Of The Extinct Empathy (installation)

April 7, 2017 — Image

Five Fragments Of The Extinct Empathy

2011

Directed by Anna Nykyri

Music by Petri Kuljuntausta

Five-channel installation production of the video work.

Sinne Gallery

In recent years, human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized the Nordic countries, Finland in particular, for their unwieldy response to violence against women. Research shows that the majority of sexual and other kinds of violence against women takes place in intimate relationships, within the private sphere. Five fragments of the extinct empathy is a short documentary about the lack of empathy for and violence against women in Finland.

Year: 2011
Length: 7 min
Shooting format: s16mm (the film partly consists of television archive material)
Screening format: DCP, DigiBeta, DVD

In collaboration with: The Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture AVEK/ Media art (Heidi Tikka), Finnish Culture Foundation, Arts Council of Finland, Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, Amnesty International and UN Women.

Aurora Borealis 1

April 7, 2017 — Image

Aurora Borealis 1

2001-2002

Planetarium Concerts at Tampere Planetarium. Two nights in April-2002. Tampere Biennale festival.

The concerts at Tampere Planetarium were based on electronic works under the theme of Space. One of the premiered works was Aurora Borealis 1, which Petri Kuljuntausta had composed from the acoustic sounds of Aurora Borealis.

w/ Juhani Liimatainen, Unto K. Laine.

Nautilo

April 4, 2017 — Image

Nautilo

2015

 

“Nautilo” installation was exhibited at at the Oulu Museum of Art. Part of the Checkpoint Leonardo exhibition, Nautilo is shaped like a diving helmet and was constructed from ice and snow. The work includes a soundscape designed by sound artist Petri Kuljuntausta, and a visual world embedded into ice, designed by visual artist Kristiina Ljokkoi. The mounting of the installation and the artists’ visions are documented on this YouTube video.

Sound Box 2.0

April 4, 2017 — Image

Sound Box 2.0

1999

Petri Kuljuntausta curated online sound exhibition for Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum in 1999. The online exhibition contained 40 works from international artist and composers.

Programmer Aki Kivelä programmed the interface based on Teuvo Kohonen’s SOM mapping theory. The mapping was constructed based on Petri’s analysis of the inner elements of the sound works. The categories were:

* electronic sound (synthetic, computer generated)
* human voice (speech, singing)
* intrumental / musical sound (or synthetic modelling of acoustic sound)
* nature sound, concrete sound
* urban sound

From the SOM map the user can select the artists and composers, or listen to the works according to their sound elements.

 

The works of Sound Box 2.0:
1     Mathew Adkins     Mapping
2     Marc Ainger     Shatter
3     Pierre-André Arcand & Jocelyn Robert & Martin Meilleur & Christof Migone & Diane Landry & Chantal Dumas & David Michaud     La Semaine Avatarienne
4     Christian Banasik     …Letzte Gebärde Offener Münder
5     Steve Bradley     Wire Music
6     Kristine Burns     Garlands: Somewhere…
7     Warren Burt     La Strega Bianca Della Luna II
8     Lelio Camilleri     Bossa No Chance
9     Guto Caminhoto     Paisagens Londrinenses 1
10   Crawling With Tarts     End Loop Haiku
11   Yves Daoust     Impromptu
12   Francis Dhomont     En Cuerdas
13   Paul Dibley     Thalis
14   Douglas Doherty     Pacific 462
15   Kui Dong     Flying Apples
16   Frank Ekeberg     Ebb
17   Fon     Sciatic
18   Howard J. Fredrics*     The Raven’s Kiss
19   Diego Garro     Peacekeepers
20   Thomas Gerwin     Kurzgeschichten
21   Joseph Hyde     Vox Mecanix
22   Keiichi Kitahara     Condensed Cloth
23   Claire Laronde     Nouvelle
24   Elaine Lillios     Arturo
25   Doug Michael     Extensions #2
26   Dennis Miller     Vantage Point
27   Ed Osborn     Language Master (Early Years)
28   Alistair Riddell     Steam Land
29   Riccardo Santoboni     Rituals
30   Claude Schryer     Entre Ici Et Là: Croyance
31   Jarmo Sermilä     But I Didn’t Know It Was Spring
32   Rodrigo Sigal     Babel
33   Johannes S. Sistermanns     Auf Blau Zugehen: Berlin, Raumgehen
34   Pete Stollery     Onset/Offset
35   Benjamin Thigpen     Step, Under
36   Jacques Tremblay     Hérésie Ou LesBas-Reliefs Du Dogme
37   Hans Tutschku     Extrémités Lointaines
38   Mario Verandi     Figuras Flamencas
39   Dajuin Yao     Garden Of Memories
40   Sean Paul Zitello & Peter Valsamis     The Boil & The Poultry Chef’s Desire

 

Charm of Sound

April 4, 2017 — Image

Charm of Sound

1997

Petri Kuljuntausta’s Charm of Sound (1997) is a text-based environmental composition in three parts, which is composed for outer space environment. In 1997 Cassini-Huygens spacecraft (Titan-IVB/Centaur) was launched from Kennedy Space Center, United States, and reached its destination, Saturn’s moon Titan, on Friday January 14, 2005. Inside the Huygens probe, stored on the CD-rom, was Kuljuntausta’s Charm Of Sound, which landed on the ground of Titan after travelling over seven years and four billion kilometres through Space.

Petri Kuljuntausta has stated: “If we suppose that there is somebody in outer space who could find the Huygens probe and understand how the CD-rom works, signs of English language and meaning of artwork, then the composition is possible to realise with very basic elements, liquid and solid materials (objects), which might be available on Titan’s ground”.

Primaries

April 3, 2017 — Image

Primaries

2015

Live at Film Winter festival, Stuttgart.

Sami van Ingen, live cinema

Petri Kuljuntausta, live sound

Henri Lindström, live sound

 

Clickz

April 3, 2017 — Image

Clickz

2010

Music by Petri Kuljuntausta

Dance and choreography by Christian Patracchini

Straftord Circus, London

London’s Open Weekend, this dance event of break neck speed and excitement, cannot be better placed than in Stratford – the heart of the developing Olympic City, 60×60 Dance is fitting to celebrate the official two year countdown towards the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012.

Concert with Birds

April 3, 2017 — Image

Concert with Birds

2014

On the CD Wings the track entitled ‘Improvisation with Bali Starlings, Red-whiskered Bulbuls, Common Quails, and House Sparrows’ was recorded in this concert.

Petri Kuljuntausta, electric guitar, and birds. Recorded live at Africasia house, Helsinki Zoo, at the Grey Cube 2014 festival on June 7, 2014, 8 am

Burbot’s Song (video)

April 3, 2017 — Image

Burbot’s Song

2016

Video

The work contains real underwater singing by burbot fish.

 

The elements of the installation are:

Sound 1, subwoofer, floor
30sec long burbot sound recording that I divided to parts. Every time when the recording started, it started from the beginning and was slightly longer than the previous one. Finally was heard the full-lenght 30sec recording. It was heard once in every 3 minutes. This sound was heard through a subwoofer.

Sound 2, sound shower, ceiling
In the ceiling was connected so called sound shower speaker that distributed directive sound to very narrow are of the room. People heard the sound only if they were exactly under the speaker. The underwater soundscapes that I played through this speaker were recorded at Baltic Sea. I got the raw sound recordings from Finnish Environmental Institute Syke. The organization is doing a research on the condition of the sea and they have many underwater recording spots around the Baltic Sea. Computer-controlled hydrophones capture the sounds regularly, through the year. I selected the sounds for my work. I have actually made several pieces and installations from these sounds, and the collaboration continues.
Video
The underwater video was played through the video monitor, that was placed in the corner of the room. Over the monitor was white net.

Net
In the space there was several white nets, hanging above the visitors.

Äänikuoro

April 3, 2017 — Image

Äänikuoro

2014-

Sound Choir founded by Petri Kuljuntausta.

The group has performed sound-based vocal works from Katri Nironen, Charlie Morrow, Tom Johnson, among others.

 

Formations

April 3, 2017 — Image

Formations

2002

Architectural exhibition by Kivi and Tuuli Sotamaa

Sound by Petri Kuljuntausta

Light by Rainier van Brummelen

Gallery of Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan.

 

“Sound & Light. The architectural landscape is complimented by an ambient sound and lightscape which evolves and fluctuates slowly throughout the day. The soundscape is composed by Petri Kuljuntausta and played through six channels in the gallery instead of the traditional two. The soundscape is composed using sounds from three different souces that have their oringin in different historical eras; sounds of water dripping in ancient caves, sounds of a piano and sounds from a contemporary city.

 

Wave Motion

April 3, 2017 — Image

Wave Motion

2005

Sound-Light installation

w/ Sami van Ingen

Helsinki Kunsthalle

“The energy of light waves reveal audible sounds”.

 

 

336 Swan Songs

April 3, 2017 — Image

336 Swan Songs

2014

sound installation

 

Materials: sound, speakers, audioplayer, amplifier, white nets

Exhibition: Grey Cube Gallery II, Bear Cave, Helsinki Zoo.

2.7. – 29.7.2014, Grey Cube Festival

 

According to the myth, the usually quiet Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) sings really beautiful song just before death. The last song is called swan song. The Swan song is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture or performance before death.

In 336 Swan Songs, the song of Mute Swan is heard 336 times a day – the same number of prisoners died at the Isosaari prison camp in Helsinki during the Civil War in 1918. Today the island is occupied by Mute Swans.

Karhulinnaan on sijoitettu isoja verkkoja,

jotka halkaisevat tilan.

Tilassa on kymmeniä kaiuttimia

joista soi ajoittain joutsenen ääni.

Kyhmyjoutsen äännähtää kaiuttimista

336 kertaa päivän aikana.

Suomen ensimmäiset kyhmyjoutsenet (Cygnus olor) tuotiin Ahvenanmaalle puistolinnuiksi. Lintuja pääsi myös vapauteen ja ensimmäinen pesintä todettiin Ahvenanmaalla vuonna 1934. Kyhmyjoutsenet asuttavat nykyään myös Helsingin edustalla olevaa Isosaarta. Saari sijaitsee Korkeasaaresta etelään.

Suomen sisällissodan aikana Isosaaressa oli vankileiri. Pelätty ja vaarallisiksi luokiteltu vankileiri aloitti toimintansa 15. toukokuuta 1918 ja leiri suljettiin 15. syyskuuta 1918. Olosuhteet vankileirillä olivat ankeat. Neljän kuukauden aikana leirillä kuoli 336 vankia: 267 suomalaista ja 69 venäläistä sotilasta. Vangit teloitettiin, tai he kuolivat nälkään ja kulkutauteihin.

Myytin mukaan yleensä hiljainen kyhmyjoutsen laulaa todella kauniisti juuri ennen kuolemaansa. Viimeistä laulua kutsutaan joutsenlauluksi. Vertauskuvallisesti myös eräiden ihmisten on sanottu laulaneen joutsenlaulunsa kun heidän viimeisestä työstään tuli erityisen merkittävä.

336 Joutsenlaulua -teoksessa soi joutsenlaulu 336 kertaa päivässä – saman verran kuoli vankeja kyhmyjoutsenten asuttaman Isosaaren vankileirillä vuonna 1918.

 

Soundcloud

https://soundcloud.com/installation-sound/petri-kuljuntausta-336-swan-songs

Eight Rooms

April 2, 2017 — Image

Eight Rooms

2008

3D-model

Multichannel video installation by Minna Rainio and Mark Roberts

Phase shifting composiion by Petri Kuljuntausta

Exihibited in November 2008 at Korjaamo Gallery.

Seacording 1

April 2, 2017 — Image

Seacording 1

2016

The work is based on the underwater recordins at Baltic Sea. Realized in collaboration with Finnish Environmental Institute SYKE.

Video Surveillance

April 2, 2017 — Image

Video Surveillance

1998

Tampere Hall, Tampere Biennale Festival

Real-time video work is based on the direct video feed taken from the Tampere Hall’s security camera network. Continuously changing video views of the security video system were projected untouched to the public TV monitor network around the building and public spaces of Tampere Hall.

Shrimp Chorus

April 1, 2017 — Image

Shrimp Chorus

2008

Sound installation based on the sound of shrimps.

Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival 13.-26.7.2008

“Composer, performer and sound artist Petri Kuljuntausta’s soundscape Shrimp Chorus in between the concerts in the foyer of the Kuhmo Arts Centre.

Wave Motion

April 1, 2017 — Image

Wave Motion

2005

Sound installation

w/ Sami van Ingen

Helsinki Kunsthalle

 

“The energy of light waves reveal audible sounds”.

Northern Lights Live

April 1, 2017 — Image

Northern Lights Live

2004

A Video documentation on Petri Kuljuntausta’s live concert at ISEA 2004 festival. The concert was based on the sounds of the northern lights.

Video based on Sami van Ingen’s live projection at the concert.

 

The Blow

April 1, 2017 — Image

The Blow

1998
Video direced by Sami van Ingen
Music by Petri Kuljuntausta
The Blow on subjektiivinen draama taitelijan isoisän talon tietämilltä. Muistot koostuvat esineistä tai tiedosta. Nämä luovat välimatkan. Etäisyyttä kutsutaan historiaksi.

Days

April 1, 2017 — Image

Days

2000

Film directed by Sami van Ingen

Music by Petri Kuljuntausta

Teos visualisoi mytologian ja toden välistä dilemmaa, inhimillistä mystifioinnin halua, joka herää vääjäämättömän tuhon – tässä tapauksessa viidakon – seurauksena.

Spartacus (dance theatre)

April 1, 2017 — Image

SPARTACUS (1998)
Koreografi: Sanna Kekäläinen
Teksti: Kari Hukkila
Musiikki ja Äänisuunnittelu: Petri Kuljuntausta
Lavastus Olli Turunen
Pukusuunnittelu: Riitta Röpelinen
Valosuunnittelu: Tuukka Törneblom
Tanssijat: Anna Airaksinen, Mika Backlund, Ulrika Hallberg, Sanna Kekäläinen, Paula Tuovinen, Tuomo Railo, Simo Heiskanen,
Ensi-ilta: 14.4.1998 Svenska Teatern, suuri näyttämö

A

March 30, 2017 — Image

A

2013

sound installation

sound w/ laser light

w/ Sami van Ingen

In A, a deep sound frequency moves water on the mirror, until the water represents the sound in a geometrical form. Laser beams hits the mirror surface and the soundified water modulates the reflection of the beams. Modulated laser beams creates moving images of the sound frequency on the walls of the gallery.

 

Red Lines

March 30, 2017 — Image

Petri Kuljuntausta

Red Lines

2015
Sound installation
Six laser modules, audio player, amplifier, bass speaker, six mirrors
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. A laser differs from other sources of light in that it emits light coherently. Spatial coherence allows a laser to be focused to a tight spot. Spatial coherence also allows a laser beam to stay narrow over great distances (collimation), enabling applications such as laser pointers. Lasers can also have high temporal coherence, which allows them to emit light with a very narrow spectrum, i.e., they can emit a single color of light. Temporal coherence can be used to produce pulses of light as short as a femtosecond. – Wikipedia
 img_3084
In Red Lines installation, a low frequency sound creates resonances that are transmitted to a system of laser lights and mirrors. What emerges from this is a light-painting of the sound. By refraction and multiplication, a redesigned version of the sound spread around the space of Sala Santa Rita where the viewer can concentrate to experience the connection between the sound, light and movement.
I often use frequencies between 24 – 30 Hertz in my sound installations, as low frequencies create the most effective, and visible, movement in different materials, like in sand, film sheet or water.
The sound frequency that I use in Red Lines is 26 Hertz. This frequency is the source for the movement and light drawings. When the speaker doesn’t produce any sound, the laser beams are still and create only tiny red dots around the space. When the sound starts, the dots starts moving and create light paintings on the architectural surfaces of the space.
How the lasers are connected to speaker cone, affects to the drawings. I have tried many different ways to contact the lasers until I found the best solution. Flexible, spring-like, connection boost the vibration mechanically and then the laser drawings are more interesting. But the lasers very seldom create interesting drawings immediately when connected to the speaker cone. They need fine-tuning. If the drawing is lame and uninteresting, I change the direction and angle of the laser module. I turn it and move it, little by little, until the resonance creates a drawing that is interesting. Then I move to the next laser and tune it as well. And so on, until I have fine-tuned all the lasers that are connected to the speaker cone. Each laser light creates its own kind of painting.
I can affect on the look of the drawings, but the figures are not fully under my control. The drawing process is partly accidental and to me this is interesting. My intention is to create the work and start the process, but I don’t have to control all details. I like to communicate with the technology and if the feedback is slightly different than I expected, I try to find the procedures that helps me to get the best results out from the system. When I install the Red Lines next time at a different space, the laser drawings will look totally different.
The central space of Sala Santa Rita has the form of a squashed octagon, with a surface of almost 100 square meters. The physical components of the Red Lines are at the center of the space. At the center is a bass speaker and around the speaker are the 6 circular mirrors (dibond mirrors) in a formation of circle. The diameter of the installation is 600 cm. The diameter of each mirror is 60 cm. The 6 laser modules are connected on the cone of the speaker. The laser beams are headed to the mirrors, and these reflects the beams around the space of Sala Santa Rita. The distance between the drawings and the speaker and mirrors is 10 – 20 meters. The lasers draw the images above the altar, on the walls and roof.
The lasers of the installation are Class 2 lasers (650 nm, 5 mW, 4.5 V). A Class 2 laser is considered to be safe because the blink reflex (glare aversion response to bright lights) will limit the exposure to no more than 0.25 seconds. It only applies to visible-light lasers (400 – 700 nm). Many laser pointers and measuring instruments are Class 2, these lasers are safe but it is not recommended to stare into beam.

Magnetism

March 30, 2017 — Image

Petri Kuljuntausta

MAGNETISM

2014

Magnetism I (vertical)

  • Two speakers, two magnets, wire, stand, 26 Hz sound frequency, sound player, amplifier

Magnetism II (horizontal)

  • Two speakers, two magnets, wire, two stands, 26 Hz sound frequency, sound player, amplifier

 

Magnetism is a class of physical phenomenon that includes forces exerted by magnets on other magnets. It has its origin in electric currents and the fundamental magnetic moments of elementary particles. These give rise to a magnetic field that acts on other currents and moments. All materials are influenced to some extent by a magnetic field. The strongest effect is on permanent magnets, which have persistent magnetic moments caused by ferromagnetism.

In order to translate an electrical signal into an audible sound, speakers contain an electromagnet: a metal coil which creates a magnetic field when an electric current flows through it. This coil behaves much like a normal (permanent) magnet, with one particularly handy property: reversing the direction of the current in the coil flips the poles of the magnet.

Inside a speaker, an electromagnet is placed in front of a permanent magnet. The permanent magnet is fixed firmly into position whereas the electromagnet is mobile. As pulses of electricity pass through the coil of the electromagnet, the direction of its magnetic field is rapidly changed. This means that it is in turn attracted to and repelled from the permanent magnet, vibrating back and forth due to Faraday’s law of induction.

The electromagnet is attached to a cone made of a flexible material such as paper or plastic which amplifies these vibrations, pumping sound waves into the surrounding air and towards the ears. [physics-org, wikipedia]

Life Aquatic

March 30, 2017 — Image

Petri Kuljuntausta

LIFE AQUATIC

LIFE AQUATIC – underwater concert, sound installation and sculpture – offers experiences both under and above water from morning to evening.

Life Aquatic is the title of an underwater project, which was arranged first time at Rauma Swimming Hall, August 17 – 20, 2016. Petri Kuljuntausta composed underwater installation and performed live in the evening concerts. Artist Kristiina Ljokkoi visualized the hall and created underwater sculptures. Saxophonist Jarno Tikka and architect Tuomas Toivonen composed a piece for the evening concert.

Before the event Petri Kuljuntausta stated about the plan:

For this event I’ll make an underwater installation, title of the work is Life Aquatic. The work is based on underwater sound recordings at Baltic Sea. There will be many kind if underwater sounds in the work: passing boats, fishes, sound of sea, unidentified underwater sounds, underwater electronic signals and so on. Some of the sounds has been recorded 100 metres below the surface.

This work has been realized in collaboration with Finnish Environment Institute Syke. I have collaborated with Syke for several years now. They have made hydrophonic recordings for scientific use all around on the Finnish seas, and I am their “house artist”, who is creating art projects from their research material. At Syke they research the Baltic Sea and work in the field of science, I do sound works and compositions and work in the field of art/music. We both focus on the same material, but we look the material from a different angle. This is very unique opportunity to me. Especially I like this kind of collaboration as it could offer me new sound material, sounds recorded at distant locations and below the surface. As an independent artist, I could never have possibilities to make this kind of recordings by myself. The microphones were installed in the sea, they were connected to computer, that was programmed to record the environmental sounds regularly.

My Life Aquatic installation is open during daytime. The audience will listen to the work underwater, they have to dive, or at least swim one ear below the water surface, to hear the sound through the scull and bones — as ear doesn’t work underwater. Over water, in the air, people don’t hear the work.

All the sounds in the installation work are recorded underwater. As far as I know this is the first time ever when an art work has been realized from this basis. By this I mean that the sounds of the work are recorded in underwater environment and the listening experience happens in underwater environment.

For the  Life Aquatic, artist Kristiina Ljokkoi is creating underwater sculptures. These are acrylic balls which are in the swimming pools, and inside the balls are water samples, microscopic life forms, from the waters near Rauma.

Ecological thinking is one of the most important factor behind the whole event. We want people to notice that our actions affects to the underwater life and its balance. If we throw plastic and other trashes to sea, birds and fishes and smaller creatures eat this and get sick. And it takes hundreds of years until the plastic is vanished from the nature.
For the event I have curated evening concerts. Every evening there will be different artists and musicians performing. The audience can listen to the performances normally, no need to go to swimming pool to hear the music. But there are also my underwater speakers in the pools, so the audience could swim if they like during the performances and listen the music underwater. OR they can move up and down and compare how the music sound in the air, and underwater.
We have arranged sound and light company to take care about the AV technology of the simming hall. There will be turcoise / blue based light design and smoke machine in the swimming hall. The atmosphere of the place will be totally different if compared to its ordinary use. With large molton curtains we cover the windows so the daylight can’t come in and the colors of the lights will be then better under control. Molton curtain is for acoustic use, so it damp the echoes.

Book of Silence

March 30, 2017 — Image

Book of Silence

2003

In 2003 I wrote a book entitled ‘Book of Silence’. There is nothing on the pages of the book. My idea is, that if I don’t give any information for the eyes and/or mind, then a concentrated reader perhaps start to hear and listen to his/her own inner sounds — ideas, thoughts…or other activity happening in the brain and body while “reading” the book. Instead of taken my ideas, I wanted to support the idea to find the reader’s own sounds.
The second level  behind the ‘silent book’ is, that actually the book is never quite empty (or silent), as there is always present the materiality of the pages: its presence depends on what kind of paper has been used in the book. And also, there might be some dirt here and there on the empty pages, and/or the printing process might have produced some non-intentional information for the pages of the book (ink blots, dirt…). So this level is more about the visual side & visual interpretation of the silent book.

Burbot

September 12, 2016 — Image — Leave a comment

Petri Kuljuntausta

Burbot

Sound, video, subwoofer, Sound Shower -speaker, nets
In Burbot, a burbot sings, explores, dances and fights. It is a fish that is hard to find, but the song of the burbot has recently been recorded in a Canadian research project. The best sample of the song of the fish is heard in Burbot. Scientists believe that sound plays a central role in the spawning behaviour of burbot. The video was filmed in the spawning season in March, when burbots are at their most active and move about also during the day.
In Finnish mythology, the burbot was made by the devil. God had made beautiful fish with silvery sides, and the devil, too, decided to make a fish from what was left over. Black spots from his sooty hands, however, remained on the surface of the fish. He spat on it, trying to wipe the stains off. This was not successful and the fish had to make do as such. The burbot was so ashamed of it soot-stained and slimy appearance that ever since Creation it has lurked at the bottom.
After the Ice Age, the burbot was one of the first fish to colonize bodies of water in Finland. It is found in brackish water and inland bodies of water throughout the country as far the northernmost parts of Finland. It prefers to remain at the bottom in cool water. The warming of bodies of water and other environmental change are having an adverse effect on burbot populations, which have also suffered from the acidic drying and run-off waters from alum soils. Burbot also suffers from marked eutrophication, and breeding problems and loss of burbot have been reported in some areas. Burbot populations have also declined or disappeared in areas influenced by the warm cooling waters of nuclear power plants.
With thanks to Adjunct Professor Pete Cott, chemical engineer Mike Guo, and the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE.

The work was commissioned for the exhibition Rauma Biennale Balticum 2016 – Vulnerability,
which was held at Rauma Art Museum in June 18 – September 18, 2016.