I recently visited the LUX New Wave of Contemporary Art at 180 The Strand. The exhibition focused upon how light and colour can affect the human being and their perception of reality. Every piece came along with a sound installation which got me thinking. The first room I entered (“I Can’t Breathe”) was 7 electrical screens surrounding you with visuals of a choir singing. Despite the words and the name of the piece being oppressive and negative, the sound was extremely soothing and peaceful. Its tranquillity resonated due to its surrounding speakers making you feel as though you were being embraced by the sound itself. This brought an extremely calming sensation to the room which contrasted with the juxtaposing lyrics “I can’t breathe”. However, despite the sound having such a calming effect I often wondered whether the bright warm coloured visual enhanced this effect. On the screens, they presented images taken from the choir in the church which were slowed down. Its tampered speed highlighted serenity and peace with no impression of rush. Big bursts of warm natural light hit the camera and the choir bringing a sense of unity and spirituality. Its angelic aesthetic in which the camera captured brought the same effect as the sound; calm and a fulfilled surrounded protection. When both mediums are put as one do they affect one another by heightening the mood it is trying to portray? If the sound is taken from that piece was filled with contrasting images of dark and ominous visuals; would we hear something different?
This idea was furthered in the next room I visited. A more visual piece- here was a long blank wall with a strand of projected light. Mirrors on either side helped magnify its everlasting effect. The colours would change from Purple, Green, Yellow, Red and Blue. When colder colours such as Blue or Purple would hit the screen it would play a high frequency pitched note that would ring as if it was “everlasting”. In contrast when the screen would project warmer colours (red and yellow) the frequency would drop to a lower pitch note. The sound affected how you viewed the colours. High pitched frequency would give a strong sense of high energy and chaos. My memory played a part in this and made me refer to the atmosphere as weather and temperature (I thought about cold wind whistling). With the colder colours to add to this, it gave a taste of icy uncertainty. Whereas the lower frequency sounds would give a more sluggish, heavy sensation like being in warm heat. I once again asked myself the question what if the visuals and sound would have swapped? What effect would it then give me? The cold colours which before gave me high energy against a low frequency could have given an ominous and oppressive impression. Whereas the high-frequency sounds against the warmer colours could have given a burning intensity perception which juxtaposes the sloth-like laziness it gave when against low frequency.
As a whole, I realised that although sight does affect how you hear something, sound also affects how you see something. No medium is stronger than the other and in fact, they work together hand in hand. These questions made me realise how I would like to present my work. Image and sound as mediums really do affect one another and the atmosphere they can create as a whole. Due to our memory and relative thinking, we put images and sound together to create a specific sense of feeling. I would like to play upon this when presenting my work to ensure I create the right mood I intend to create. Finally, to expand on this I would also like to incorporate other sensory mediums such as temperature and touch.