Photos: Zan Wimberley

The Perceiving of Sound
Susan Hawkins

Gallery 3
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In January–February 2020 I undertook the Art Gallery of NSW Moya Dyring Studio Residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris. I initially went in search of one of the oldest French instruments, the épinette des Vosges, a timber-stringed instrument that is still being made in in Mirecourt, a commune in the Vosges department in northeastern France. On my return to Paris, I took sound recordings around the city, of sirens, bells, and musicians in the white-tiled metro. As John Cage notes, all places have their own sound mark.

– Susan Hawkins

The Perceiving of Sound is an installation of found objects, including timber furniture, cable sleeves, brass kempul gongs, found drop sheets, the épinette des Vosges, a DC motor and crystals. The viewer is encouraged to closely move through this soundscape and feel the sound, sit, lay and touch. It is an immersive sound work where the viewer can partake in their own personal experience of perceiving sound.

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