EWIGKEITSGERÄUSCHE (FOREVER SOUNDS)
Site-specific sound sculpture and augmented reality sculpture, 2024
The rushing of water pumps and pipes, the constant humming of fans in weathering systems, the electromagnetic whirring of generators and cable routes for power supply or the beating of shaft backfilling, where cement is pressed through pipes into the depths: Sounds from the so-called ‘perpetual tasks’ of post-mining form the basis for the expansive artwork Ewigkeitsgeräusche (Forever Sounds) by artist Moritz Fehr. Created especially for the entrance hall of the German Mining Museum Bochum (Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum), it can be heard and seen there for the duration of two years.
For the artwork, Moritz Fehr recorded such ‘forever’ lasting sounds at numerous locations in the Ruhr region. They are caused, among others, by infrastructures and machines that have to be operated for an indefinite period of time due to the impacts of mining. These facilities serve to protect the inhabitants of the Ruhr region and the environment from potential dangers, such as subsidence or a rise in mine water levels.
The impacts of mining also include earth tremors. They are caused by human intervention underground, for example by the mechanical extraction of raw materials, blasting or the resulting collapse of underground hollows. These subsurface movements are continuously recorded. For the artwork, such seismic data was included in the composition and translated in such a way that it becomes audible. Among others, they stimulate the large semi-transparent plastic panels in the sculpture to vibrate. Sounds from surveying equipment used to monitor the post-mining landscape are also integrated into the work. Likewise recordings of sites where the after-effects of mining can be heard on the surface, such as when mine water is discharged into rivers and lakes.
The spatial composition has an indefinite duration and is controlled by a random process in real time. Its sonic elements move through the space across the sculpture's 21 loudspeakers, swelling and subsiding, becoming audible in alternating sonic density, timbre and volume. In this way, the sound sculpture transports the sounds of post-mining and vibrations from underground into the entrance hall of the German Mining Museum Bochum.
Ewigkeitsgeräusche (Forever Sounds) not only addresses the immediate consequences of human interventions in the usually hidden and inaudible subterranean space, but also their temporal dimensions. As the consequences of mining show, the implications of such interventions can not only occur on a temporally tangible scale, but can assume such immense proportions that they last for all eternity.
Virtual sculpture
The artwork Ewigkeitsgeräusche (Forever Sounds) is expanded by a virtual sculpture (augmented reality) that can be accessed via smartphone. Download the app to your mobile device via the relevant app store and walk to the centre of the lawn in front of the museum. You will see a sign there. Scan the front with the app to start the virtual sculpture. The use of headphones is recommended.
Work details:
Sound Sculpture
Site-specific sound installation, 21-channel spatial sound composition
Material: Steel, plastic panels, cables, sixteen active loudspeakers, four transducers, subwoofer, PC with custom composition playback system
Dimensions: 10.7m x 7.9m x 7.9m
Duration undefined
Augmented Reality Sculpture
Virtual sound sculpture with 3D objects, spatial sound composition
Augmented Reality app for smartphones
Duration undefined, interactive
More Information and credits on the website of the German Mining Museum ↗︎
Download exhibition handout (PDF) ↗︎
