Exhibition Information:
November 22, 2019 - January 26, 2020
Opening Reception:
Friday, November 22, 2019, from 6 - 9 pm
Gallery Hours:
Sundays, 1 - 5 pm and by appointment (please email info@ess.org)
As part of the Outer Ear Residency, Luftwerk presents an immersive sculptural exhibition at Audible Gallery, November 22nd, 2019 - January 26th, 2020. Illuminated objects will fill the space with shadows and reflections creating a visual topography enhanced by amplified sounds mimicking the calving of glaciers, created by collaborator Katherine Young.
Requiem: A White Wanderer is an ongoing project inspired by Larsen-C, a 120-mile long crack that ran along the Antarctic ice shelf and broke into a trillion-ton iceberg named A 68 in 2017. White Wanderer translates seismic data from this ailing iceberg into an emotional experience, connecting the public to the urgency of climate change. The source data is based on the seismic recordings made by Douglas MacAyeal, a world-renowned glaciologist based out of the University of Chicago. MacAyeal has recorded seismic data over a multi-year time period, observing the movement of iceberg B15 from its first cracking to its disintegration across the globe. Seismic data is a low frequency sonic signal, inaudible to the human ear, but it can be perceived and felt throughout the ocean system, traveling through trenches and the SOFAR channel from the Antarctic to Haiti and beyond. While in residence at ESS, Luftwerk has been working in collaboration with Katherine Young to create a musical composition for orchestra and voice based on these sonic signals. The exhibition at Audible Gallery will become part of the scenic design for the next phase of Requiem: A White Wanderer, a live performance by 10-piece ensemble with immersive installation and a panel discussion presented in Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park on February 1st 2020.
ABOUT LUFTWERK
Luftwerk, the artistic collaboration of Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero, explores light, color, and sound in immersive, experience-based installations. Focused on the context of a site, Luftwerk applies their own interpretive layer, integrating the physical structure, historical context, and embedded information into each piece. Using various modalities—projecting videos, casting shadows, creating custom sculpture—they integrate light into every project to explore its ephemeral and shifting nature. Since its founding in 2007, Luftwerk has amassed a significant body of work ranging from site-specific interventions at places like AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park, Garfield Park Conservatory, to iconic architecture by architects including Renzo Piano, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, to experimental projects that interpret data sourced from Antarctica, like White Wanderer.
www.luftwerk.net