Musica subsonica
Filip Borelli art and science · sound and light
Earthquake
The Zagreb earthquake was a life-shaking experience. I was located at the epicentre, where I was awakened by the strong vibrations that came in waves. The fact that I was suddenly woken up and somehow still in a hypnagogic state gave me a different vision of the vibrations that had shaken the whole house and then the neighborhood. As I stepped outside, I saw the earthquake waves moving through the earth. As much as it was terrifying to see the roofs of some houses collapsing, I was very excited to experience this on my own skin.
Afterwards, I got info from a friend who was in contact with some experts from the Seismological Institute that the waves that hit Zagreb were around 14Hz. This experience was soaked into my subconsciousness, which I touched again when I started to work on the Musica Subsonica installation.
Translation
The current work is about the invisible sound frequencies that surround us in everyday life, frequencies that we often perceive as physical phenomena occurring in the very low spectrum of sound. Low frequencies have very long amplitudes (waves), and these are the same kind I experienced during the earthquake.
This experience of an earthquake also gave me a sense of how fragile architectural spaces were, so I found a way to transform architectural space into sound, then into movement, light, and finally a permanent trace in the form of a “picture”. For me, it is always a fascination with transformation and translation.
architectural space → sound → movement → light → picture
I didn’t make a piece about an earthquake; I used that experience to develop an idea that came along with a series of experiments.
The only thing that I need for this translation is the dimensions and materials of the particular space that I want to translate.
Especially in this time of wars, conflicts, and natural disasters, there are so many important places that are wiped out, and to give them a memory is a meaningful pursuit, I think.
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This kind of work is always filled with technical challenges. That’s why it’s important to keep a new media installation running in the studio for months. I also do live streams and invite the public’s input to test the installation in a variety of situations.
I also work with experts who help me build custom electronics or 3D parts. They understand that this kind of work takes a long time, so their patience, creativity, and professionalism are very important for the development.
During the past few weeks, I transitioned from using the cyanotype process to a method closer to analogue photography, due to some technical difficulties I encountered. However, my concept remains the same: to use the installation as a portal for translating architectural space into an image through sound, light, and movement.
On Art and Practice
The base of my work is alchemy and the study of chaos. For me, chaos is a critical element that makes life vibrant. I need things I can't completely understand, because that allows me to learn.
I understand more when I don’t try to mentally grasp everything, but allow my subconscious to reveal answers when the time is right. I know that I don’t know — that’s why I believe.
Interaction
I suppose the desire to translate and to reveal invisible forms of our surroundings comes from my interest in human psychology and behavior. It is always interesting for me to find the cause of somebody’s behaviour, and that cause is usually invisible and is meant to stay hidden. So again, human subconsciousness is leading the way.
When it comes to artworks, I like to be simple so people can understand the construction and the result. Interaction is one of the elements that I like the most, especially when there is no given result but when the result can be multiple things. That is when human creativity shines.
I just like to create systems that are chaotic but stable, so whoever comes into interaction with it can have different results.
Future Works
I always combine different art disciplines through research (music, dance, photography, videography, projections, and art installations) because it expands my creative capacity and I can step back from one form and observe it more freely.
As I stated before, it takes many years for some experience to give me ideas. Currently, I know that I will be working on a new installation that interacts with the crypto and stock markets. This direction will combine my knowledge of economics and art — two fields, some would say, completely different, but for me very close, because of my education, where I have a master’s degree in both of them.