It’s undoubted that cardboard boxes can be used to make a number of things, starting from basic storage organizers to kids’ toys. But no one can even think that cardboard can be used as a high-tech material. It would a great surprise to hear that sound artist, Zimoun, created a sound art installation by using 250 custom boxes. The installation turned out to be of room-sized which address various contrasting themes. The sound sculptures of Zimoun are graceful, mechanized in a way to work as a playful poetry. Its structural simplicity opened the industrial boom and revealed a complex relationship in sound and motion. The sound pieces were created using basic components. Many of them used the multiples of already prepared mechanical elements to observe the creation of patterns.
About Zimoun and his Work:
Zimoun was born in Switzerland. He lived and worked in Bern. His work is recognized all over the world. This Swiss artist built an architecturally-minded platform for sound. His aim was to explore the mechanical rhythm and flow of the prepared system. His installation was a great add-on to commonplace industrial objects. Along with two other artists, Zimoun also created a space with promotes contemplation and reflection around various cultural and social conditions. Under this natural phenomenon, his minimalistic construction reverberates effortlessly. Zimoun has been awarded a number of art prizes for his achievement. His work has been exposed to five different countries i.e. USA, Netherland, France, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Once he was successful in his creation, he also created the setup from white boxes in a white-walled room and attained the consistency of results.
In his guest lecture, he expressed his views, “Since I was a kid I was fascinated about exploring sound, playing with instruments and creating different compositions in addition to visual arts. I have always remained active in this field with a great work on sound, music and other visually realized objects. Many of my interests are coming together through my sound sculpture and installation”. In 2003 Zimoun along with a graphic designer founded a platform, Leerraum, for artists, architects or designers who love to explore the structures based on reductive principles with a fundamental use of materials.
Raw Materials Used:
Zimoun used commonly available raw materials for his sound art installation. He arranged them in a big room in such a way that they produced great results. The things used by him were:
- Custom cardboard boxes
- Plastics bags
- Old furniture or wood
- Some mechanical elements like wires, metal, tapes, ventilators, microphone, dc motors, and speakers.
Mechanism:
The custom boxes used by Zimoun were of same sized. He used dozens of them which accumulated to be about 250 boxes. He arranged the cardboard boxes, along with wires, wood, motors and other material in a specific way which resulted in complex sound and motion. Each box acts as a sculpture space with an intention to highlight its sonic and rhythmic potential. This controlled mechanism created physical vibrations, which further enhanced the dynamic nature of speakers. They vary in time and force. Setting in a room, these unexpected low-tech custom packaging boxes created a new architecture of sound which stands out among the highly controlled setup created in a large gallery space. This setup can be created by using custom printed boxes as well. The only condition is their similar dimensions.
