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    Ubiquitous Objects Transform into Ambient Soundscapes in Zimoun’s Installations

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    All images courtesy of Zimoun, shared with permission

    Ubiquitous Objects Transform into Ambient Soundscapes in Zimoun’s Installations

    May 19, 2025

    Art

    Grace Ebert

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    Objects often regarded as fixtures of modern life—cardboard boxes, glass cups, and plastic jugs, to name a few—become generative materials in the soundscapes of Swiss artist Zimoun (previously). Connected to small, direct-current motors, wires and strings strung across installations of these unassuming items rattle and twirl to create continuous, ambient noise.

    Zimoun frequently references the tension between chaos and order in his works, particularly as it relates to the relationship between the individual elements and the larger composition. For a recent project for Rewire in The Hague, for example, the artist tethered piano strings to 24 polyethylene tanks in one room and to 36 water containers in another.

    While the basic construction was the same, the way the vibrating wires interacted with the vessels affected their timbre. “Each of the spaces sounds distinctly different, even though the same principle was applied throughout. Both deep, bass-like sounds and very varied, constantly changing overtones can emerge,” the artist says.

    Exploring the possibilities of such simple materials is at the core of many of Zimoun’s works, as he shifts our perspective on their uses and functionality. Appearing animate, each object becomes an instrument in its own right, as the kinetic, often frenetic, movement of the machines transforms a wood-slatted door or metal barrel into a sonic apparatus.

    It’s worth poking around Zimoun’s Vimeo to explore the breadth of the installations and their subtly varied sounds. The artist has several exhibitions planned for later this year and throughout 2026, so follow the latest on Instagram.

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      in Art

      In a Retrofitted School Bus at the U.S.-Mexico Border, Guadalupe Maravilla Heals Through Vibrations

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      All images from the Art21 “New York Close Up” film, “Guadalupe Maravilla’s ‘Mariposa Relámpago,’” © Art21, shared with permission

      In a Retrofitted School Bus at the U.S.-Mexico Border, Guadalupe Maravilla Heals Through Vibrations

      February 26, 2025

      ArtFilm

      Grace Ebert

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      Guadalupe Maravilla’s multi-disciplinary practice is rooted in a simple premise: sound is medicine.

      The artist is known for works that merge sculpture, performance, instruments, and healing, one such project being the elaborately retrofitted school bus titled “Mariposa Relámpago.” Part of Maravilla’s Disease Throwers series, the large-scale coach is devoid of bench seats and ubiquitous yellow paint and instead features an open cab lined with chrome panels. More than 700 found objects adorn its body, from cutlery and a worn pair of sandals to large gongs. More

    • 188 Shares139 Views

      in Art

      Through Totemic Sculptures and Sound Art, Guadalupe Maravilla Explores the Therapeutic Power of Indigenous Ritual

      by

      
      Art
      Documentary
      Music

      #health
      #installation
      #performance art
      #sculpture
      #sound
      #video

      August 11, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      
      In 1984, eight-year-old Guadalupe Maravilla left his family and joined a group of other children fleeing their homes in El Salvador. The Central American country was in the midst of a brutal civil war, a profoundly traumatic experience that’s left an indelible impact on the artist and one that guides his broad, multi-disciplinary practice to this day.
      Now based in Brooklyn, Maravilla works across painting, sculpture, and sound-based performances all veiled with autobiography, whether informed by the Mayan architecture and stone totems that surrounded him as a child or his cancer diagnosis as a young adult. His pieces are predominately therapeutic and rooted in Indigenous ritual and mythology, recurring themes the team at Art21 explores in a new documentary.

      “Guadalupe Maravilla & the Sound of Healing” follows the artist as he prepares for his solo exhibition on view through September 6 at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City. Titled Planeta Abuelx, or Grandparent Planet—Maravilla expands on the often-used idea of Mother Nature to broaden its scope—the outdoor show is comprised of the artist’s trademark Disease Throwers, towering headdresses and shrines made of recycled aluminum. Allusions to Central American culture bolster the monumental works, with imprints of corn cobs, wooden toys, and other found objects planted throughout.
      Covering the surrounding grass are chalky white markings, a signature component of the artist’s practice that delineate every space where he installs a piece. The abstract patterns evoke Tripa Chuca, one of Maravilla’s favorite childhood games that involves players drawing lines between corresponding numbers to create new intertwined motifs.

      In Planeta Abuelx, Maravilla pairs his visual works with meditative performances that are based on the sound baths he used for pain management while undergoing chemotherapy. These healing therapies are designed to reduce anxiety and tension that often trigger stress-induced diseases and date back to ancient Tibetan traditions. Using gongs and glass vessels, the palliative remedy has been the foundation of workshops the artist hosts for undocumented immigrants and others dealing with cancer that more deeply connect his totemic artworks to the viewers.
      “Having a community that has gone through similar experiences can be really empowering,” he says. “Making these elaborate Disease Throwers is not just about telling a story from my past, but it’s also about how this healing ritual can continue in the future, long after I’m gone.”
      If you’re in New York, Maravilla is hosting a sound bath to mark the close of Planeta Abuelx on September 4, and you can see more of his multivalent projects on Instagram. For a larger archive of documentaries exploring the lives and work of today’s most impactful artists, like this visit to Wangechi Mutu’s Nairobi studio, check out Art21’s site.

      #health
      #installation
      #performance art
      #sculpture
      #sound
      #video

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    • 213 Shares109 Views

      in Art

      An Eclectic Group Show Features Sound Sculptures, Collages, and Toy Assemblages for the Annual BBA Artist Prize

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      Art

      #collage
      #fiber art
      #light
      #painting
      #sculpture
      #sound

      June 18, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      By June Lee. All images courtesy of BBA Artist Prize, shared with permission
      A broad, varied collection of work from 20 emerging artists converges in a group exhibition for the sixth-annual BBA Artist Prize. Living in ten countries and working across mediums, this year’s finalists include Steve Parker’s touch-activated horn sculptures, Fiona White’s vivid collaged paintings, and June Lee’s figurative assemblages of toys and everyday objects. The winner of 2021’s award will be announced on June 25, with all works on view at Kühlhaus Berlin through June 30. Get a preview on the BBA site, and check out artist Ming Lu’s blue-and-white porcelain sculptures, which won the 2020 competition.

      By Ewa Cwikla
      By Fiona White
      By Ernst Miesgang
      By Steve Parker
      Left: Nina Ekman. By Right: By Juliette Losq
      By Sandra Blatterer

      #collage
      #fiber art
      #light
      #painting
      #sculpture
      #sound

      Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

       
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