TH-42PH10EK x 5

An installation composed of five screens that swing as pendulums, with each cycle lasting approximately 45 minutes, the sound produced by the movement, and the visualization associated with the sound. Once the actions have come to a standstill, the screens are pulled back into their original positions with the help of cable winches and are made to swing again—triggered by pulling a ripcord. The work cannot take place without human intervention involving the exhibition supervisor in the installation. The sound is produced by the amplification of the friction to which the pendulum joints are subjected. The five oscillating sounds merge into one another with a time offset. The visualization on the screens is a direct translation of the analog audio signal into an analog video signal. Voltage and frequency are represented by loudspeakers in sound on the one hand and as flickering horizontal white lines on the monitors on the other. There is no processing of the signal, for example, by a computer or an effects device. The artist explores new results by combining existing devices and new technologies.

What is astonishing about this work is the sense of power created by a simple physical phenomenon, evoking an unknown emotion. Therefore, it seems unnecessary to reduce this work to a human scale like “the last gasp on the gallows”, or to add a conventional explanation (as the artist puts it) that the work reveals a different potential of technology by using the industrial product (display), referred to in the title “TH-42PH10EK,” for a purpose other than its intended use. Flickering lights, a creaky noise from winding, a roaring sound from swinging, overlapping pendulum movements, and silence—there is nothing strange and nothing is inexplicable. Nevertheless, it makes us feel something indescribable. This is where the importance of this work lies. In contrast to many works largely relying on descriptive explanations, this work was outstanding. (AKIBA Fuminori)