Touching the Rumble of Melting 16mm film installation reflects on HU Nung-Hsin’s journey to the Arctic Circle "where I experienced heart-pounding emotions when a seemingly serene Arctic landscape collapsed, abruptly. The iceberg images I had taken were collaged onto the soundtrack of 16mm film." After the “optical soundtrack” of the film projector transforms the iceberg images into audio, the sound is again converted into vibration frequency by the tactile speakers. The speakers are attached to an aluminum plate and produce rumbling sounds and vibrations in response to the iceberg images. As the whole film installation moves with the smallest of stimuli, this reflects how the global environment intertwines with the fragile polar landscape.
In addition, the collage on the soundtrack also includes the iceberg image from the French silent fantasy film The Conquest of the Pole directed by Georges Méliès (1912) which was made during the period of the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration. The vibration frequency from the installation juxtaposing early fictional imagination and the modern polar expedition echoes over 100 years of human intervention in the polar region.
About the Artist
HU Nung-Hsin is a Taiwanese born U.S. based multidisciplinary artist who interweaves time-based media, installation, and performance in her practice. She has received various grants, including the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant, and Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning — Van Lier Fellowship. She has also participated in international residencies including Casa das Caldeiras in São Paulo, the Treasure Hill Artist Village in Taiwan, the Arctic Circle Residency Program in Norway, SHIFT residency at the EFA Project Space in New York, and the 18th Street Arts Center in Los Angeles.
Official Website: http://nunghsinhu.com/
IG:@nunghsin.hu