2001
stereo sound installation
audio gear
pencil on wall
sound file is an excerpt
‘thought i couldn’t breath‘ was created for the exhibition ‘transit/survival skills’ in scottsdale arizona in 2001.
i had been thinking for awhile about using a contemporary pop song to create a meditative space, and following the title for this show, i decided to do a site specific work using the song “survivor” by destiny’s child as my source material. what was on interest to me, was to approach their recording through a kind of alchemy, so that a relatively inane, tedious and loud piece of pop music, could be transformed into a calm quiet atmosphere… and in terms of survival, if i was able to visit public spaces without the massive volumed pop songs, i could survive public spaces in a much different way.
the piece was installed in a small closet without a door (basically an alcove to be discovered). the small cavity also acted as a kind of resonance chamber, activating certain frequencies in the piece. the piece played very quietly and had the audible presence of a small gathering of insects.
the words ‘thought i couldn’t breath‘ were written in pale pencil on the wall near the speakers to draw the listener’s body towards the sound, offering a more attentive and intimate view.
the title and wall text are a found misspelling of part of the lyics to original song as found on the web – the original line being “thought i couldn’t breathe“.