Concerning time we remain, divided
This research project, which is a result of a collaboration between arc. Liran Chechick and musician Tom Tlalim, has ended up in a mutual installation for the Venice 2008 11th architecture biennale.
It seeks to explore the Israeli contemporary urban reality by examining demographic information of central Jerusalem. Issues such as urbanization, population growth, relocation and local identity are often discussed in the context of conflict, and thus perceived through a filter of emotions and ideologies that interfere with one’s clarity of analysis. The installation uses demographic data extracted from GIS (Geographic Information System) as raw material for the sound composition, offering a different observation on the city’s intricate reality; a multi-angled and, as much as possible, a non-engaged, purely aesthetic one. The resulting spectrum graphs are then used as basis for the sculptural work. In this manner, the layers of geographical data are detached from their spatial coordinates, transformed into layers of sound, and eventually represented as a layered topography within the exhibition space.
The installation generates a sound environment that is based on one sphere of information (Jerusalem), yet which exists in another sphere (the Israeli pavilion in Venice). In the context of building additions, it seeks to examine the implications of such constantly changing, integrated environments and their effect on the spatial experience, with an emphasis on concepts like dynamism, layering and expansion. At the core of this process remains the ancient conundrum: how can a pot keep getting filled when nothing ever spills out, if it does spill out – where and how does it go about doing so?
Project website: www.concerningtime.org