Jana Winderen

Russell Haswell commissioned Peter Zinovieff, Carl Michael von Hausswolff, Yasunao Tone and Jana Winderen to conceive new acoustic works for the installation The Morning Line by Matthew Ritchie for the Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary.

From the website of TML:

As one of its essential elements, the artist conceived of the pavilion’s sonic identity. The Morning Line is saturated with fifty speakers, using a unique interactive computer controlled sound system, conceived and implemented by Tony Myatt.

For the presentation in Istanbul guest sound curator Russell Haswell has invited Jana Winderen, Peter Zinovieff, Carl Michael von Hausswolff, and Yasunao Tone to conceive new acoustic works, commissioned by T-B A21. Two other new works by Ghostigital and Jónsi & Alex are also being presented for the first time in Istanbul. As The Morning Line continues to travel the world as a platform for contemporary music, and within its mandate to encourage and support the production of innovative composition wherever it tours, T-B A21 has entered a partnership with MIAM – Centre for Advanced Studies in Music, Istanbul, under the guidance of Melih Fereli, former director of the Istanbul Festival, Kamran İnce, and Cihat Aşkın and has commissioned new compositions by Erdem Helvacıoğlu, Cevdet Erek, Batuhan Bozkurt, and Mehmet Can Özer.

These ten new compositions will be presented as world premieres in Istanbul, during the festival that will follow the opening ceremonies on the 22nd of May and run for the rest of the week. They will be added to the existing archive of music and soundscapes selected by the previous guest curators Florian Hecker and Byce Dessner. These include collaborative works by Bryce Dessner in collaboration with David Sheppard and Evan Ziporyn, and Mark Fell in collaboration with Roc Jiménez de Cisneros, and solo compositions by Bruce Gilbert, Florian Hecker, Lee Ranaldo, Chris Watson, and Thom Willems.

Text for Jana Winderen´s piece:

Between Dry Land
Audio 37’00”

Soundscapes under the surface, invisible but audible - soundscapes which have evolved from the beginning of time.

The acoustic environment of the oceans is an essential component of life for the creatures inhabiting the seas.

Whether the sound of a Sea Urchin feeding (their ancestors date from the Ordovician period), a male Cod calling out for a mate, the sound of Haddock protecting its habitat or a Snapping Shrimp stunning its prey, water is an efficient transmitter of sound waves.

Sound travels almost five times faster in water than in air, the speed differing according to pressure, salinity, the flow of the current and temperature. Creatures living in the ocean use sound to communicate with each other, to find a mate, to hunt and to orientate themselves. Different fish and crustaceans produce different sounds for different purposes; you can identify the species by listening to the sounds they make.

Fish hear with their bodies via nerve cells directly linked to their inner ear from the lateral line. Sounds from the environment, like the cracking of ice 50 meters under the surface of Disco Bay (Greenland), violent waves against the shores and beaches announce to the fish that the shore is close by. Underwater mountain chains in the Atlantic Ocean echo the calls of sea mammals. Soundscapes provide a three-dimensional ‘view’ of their world. Very little research has been conducted in this field, which is surprising, perhaps, considering that the oceans cover more than 70% of our planet.

As species die out so also does their sound imprint, without us knowing they were ever there, before we are even close to understanding them or their habitats.

Matthew Ritchie, Aranda\Lasch and Arup AGU – The Morning Line installation with sound works as described above.
Photo by TML

Photo by TML

Opening of The Morning Line, Istanbul, 22nd May 2010, photo by Jana Winderen

Press conference, photo by Jana Winderen

Curator Russell Hasswell for the new sound works for TML, photo by Jana Winderen

Peter Worth and Tony Myatt from Music Research Centre, University of York, photo by Jana Winderen

Tony Myatt and Oliver Larkin from Music Research Centre, University of York, photo by Jana Winderen

Finishing the cabeling under the pavement before the opening, photo by Jana Winderen

Photo by Jana Winderen

Peter Zinovieff sound checking of his piece, photo by Jana Winderen

Carl Michael von Hausswolff sound checking, photo by Jana Winderen

Jana Winderen and Sinem Yazici, photo by TML

Premiering of Jana WInderen´s piece Between Dry Land, photo by TML

Symposium: Chris Watson, Jana Winderen, Carl Michael von Hausswolff, Daniela Zyman (T-B A21 / Moderator), Ben Aranda, Cevdet Erek, Batuhan Bozkurt, photo by TML

Lee Ranaldo (not in the image), Tony Myatt (Music Research Centre, University of York / Moderator), Russell Haswell, Mehmet Can Özer, Matthew Ritchie, Francesca von Habsburg, Ghostigital, Peter Zinovieff, photo by TML