Variation 1 (2005)
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Ellen Moffat, The Phoneme Project
Multi-media installation, 2005-ongoing

The Phoneme Project is an ongoing exploration of the spatialization and visualization of sound using phonemes of the International Phonetic Alphabet as linguistic notes and as authority. The gallery is a darkened environment with up to 2,000 feet of electrical and audio cables, 24 outputs of sound, 26 raw speakers (some are filled with water or with poppyseed), multi-channel amplifiers, mixers and a digital sound recorder on the floor throughout the space. The composition suggests language as it is becoming or deteriorating, teasing meaning, sense and sound. As an installation, the non-hierarchical environment references aerial photography, cognitive dysfunctionality and issues of social security.

Variation 1 (2005) is 16-track audio-light installation using manipulated phonemes and light triggered by audio signal as a (linguistic) code for a composition that straddles sound art, sound poetry, music and free-form experimentation. The abstract narrative uses rhythm, colour and silence to suggest social anxiety without logical sensibility. Production support from the Saskatchewan Arts Board, paved Art + New Media (Saskatoon), The Banff Centre and the University of Regina-Department of Computer Science and Faculty of Fine Arts. Exhibited in North Bay (2005) and Calgary (2006).

In Variation 2:(2006), the composition echoes the architectural structure of the International Phonetic Alphabet with twenty phonemic categories channeled to twenty outputs of sound. An additional four outlets use single phonemes, a real-time sound generator with variables of tempo and amplitude and speakers containing water. Sound triggers the vibration of the speaker; as the sound escalates, the water becomes increasingly agitated. As a meditation, the objectivity of linguistic structures and the physical properties of media intersect with the subjectivity of voice, rhythms and interpretation. Production support from the Canada Council for the Arts-Media Production. Completed and presented as a performance during a residency at Western Front, Vancouver (2006).

PLAY audio sample
NOTE: This audio sample is a three minute compilation selected from an eighteen minute performance of Variation 2: Vancouver. The original 24 channel audio installation has been reduced to a mono format for documentation purposes.

Variation 2 (2006)
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