Concrete Sonore II
18-channel sound installation, 2018
Concrete plates of various sizes, transducers, electronics
The installation Concrete Sonore is outdoor audio-visual sculpture and a concrete musical instrument consisting of 18 plates of various sizes and thicknesses to create different sound qualities. Through research focusing on interpreting the resonant qualities and potentialities of concrete, a new notion of concrete as a sonorous, fragile and ephemeral matter is awakened. The word concrete comes from the Latin word "concretus" (meaning compact or condensed), the perfect passive participle of "concrescere," from "con-" (together) and "crescere" (to grow).
Concrete is a man-made composite material, which although known already in the Roman Empire, did not return to use until the mid 18th century and more broadly until after World War II. It’s structure, solidity and minimalism together with the notion of permanence and immortality has enabled it to be often used in the construction of monuments and memorials along with museums and housing estates, among others.
Concrete is also an incredibly malleable material that may be used to create an infinite variety of shapes and forms.
Poznańska’s fascination with concrete arises firstly from the impact of this material in the aesthetic appearance of contemporary cities and how it is inherently embedded in the urban landscape’s sound environment. In the process of her investigation and preparation of the installation, she goes against the powerfulness of concrete to highlight its fragility and ephemerally in order to juxtapose the obvious visual material state with the hidden elements discovered through sound.
text © Christy Woody