ARTIST’S APPROACH
At the heart of Philippe Battikha’s practice lies an obsession with sound. His work centres on the belief that in today’s visually driven society we must pay closer attention to the impact and importance of aural environments in our lives. By recontextualizing habitual sounds and exposing specific aural properties in sound installations, sculptures, and controlled sound environments, he explores the relationships we have with the sounds that surround us and their effect on our experiences.
THE ARTWORK
Entretien préventif
Installation, 2019
Entretien préventif is a “mise-en-scène” – a “fake” sound installation. Using generic and easily recognizable protective barriers used to cordon off public space, the artist will create a restricted area that resembles a work site or construction zone. The zone will emit sounds of repair and construction from a concealed location. At times, the sounds will be alarming and/or threatening, creating a sense of urgency or attention; a loud clang of metal, or a worker cursing his hammered thumb. At others times, the sounds will be mundane and relatively imperceptible, blending with the sounds present in the environment.
Philippe Battikha is greatly interested in how sound affects the perception of a scene. Whether in relation to movies, theatrical shows, concerts or scenes in everyday life, sound can alter the way we experience what we see. In line with this year’s Art Souterrain Festival theme, Entretien préventif questions the reality of what we see through the use of “fake” sound. The sounds used in this piece will be a combination of field (real) and Foley (fake) recordings. Sounds such as footsteps, idle chatter, dropping tools, glass breaking, metal being hammered, and so on, will draw the attention of passers-by toward a seemingly empty work-site, leaving a question of doubt on what was and is being perceived.
Curator : Art Souterrain
