Krakowiak's Sound Chute (2013) is one of several innovative works to fill the galleries of the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology this summer. as part of Turning FACT Inside Out. The exhibition has commissioned these radical interventions, installations and experiments that make use of new technologies to push the boundaries of art and the gallery space. It is a reflection of the evolution of artistic practices, and of how cultural institutions adapt to remain relevant for society at large.
The piece builds on the artist's continued inquiry into the link between architecture, its acoustic properties and society. The gallery plays host to a unique architectural-acoustic arrangement that leads visitors through the space, while altering and even disrupting his or her acoustic perceptions.
Krakowiak takes a similar approach with her project in Liverpool to that utilised in her most "audible" project to date, her Polish pavilion installation at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2012. Made in cooperation with curator Michał Libera, Making the walls quake as if they were dilating with the secret knowledge of great powers - a quote from Charles Dickens' novel Dombey and Son - commented on the impending chaos of modernity and industrial progress.
The piece picked up on noise generated in neighbouring pavilions, via microphones installed in the floors and in systems for ventilation, heating and sewage, then amplified them in one gallery. The intimacy of personal space was broken down by making all types of sounds audible to a larger public - no matter how unpleasant, uncomfortable or plain embarrassing.
Krakowiak (born 1980) received her artistic education in graphic arts and design, but her practice is based in great measure on sound art. She sees herself, however, as a sculptor - as she says, "I have a need for great gestures, gestures created with mastery. (...) I am interested in space and working on monumental, imperceptible forms". Her approach to form was influenced by her mentor, Mirosław Bałka, for whom she worked as an assistant for several years. For Krakowiak, architecture is the ideal context for working with such large-scale sculptural forms - a scale that is virtually limitless, particularly when combined with sound's monumental, boundless qualities.
In Liverpool, Krakowiak's Sound Chute is presented alongside those of Nina Edge, Escoitar.org, HeHe, Steve Lambert, Manifest.AR, Uncoded Collective. Their inquiries and experiments into relevant issues include urban narratives and statements on capitalism in the fields of politics, society, economy, crises, environmental threats, and their relation to new media today and in the future.
Sound Chute by Katarzyna Krakowiak, was commissioned by FACT, with the support of the Polish Cultural Institute in London and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw.
Turning Fact Inside Out takes place at FACT between the 13th of June - 15th of September 2013. The exhibition is curated by Mike Stubbs, FACT and Aneta Krzemien, researcher at the Centre for Architecture and Visual Arts (CAVA), Liverpool University. The annual exhibition has been held at FACT over the past decade, bringing innovative international artists to take over the building, altering the galleries and social spaces and encouraging visitors to question the way they think of, and experience, cultural centers. FACT, founded in 1988, is the U.K.'s leading media arts centre.
For more information, see: www.fact.co.uk
Editor: Agnes Monod-Gayraud
07.06.2013