Spruce 2

2024 | performative installation with music and lights

Photo: Alissa Šnaider

7-channel performative installation with music and live lights, performed at SAAL 3 vol 3 at Kanuti Gildi SAAL, Tallinn, on 14th of December 2024.

In a way, Spruce 2 is a sequel to the installation Spruce as Phoenix. For both works, the starting point was the fact that spruce has long been one of the most popular materials for building acoustic musical instruments, due to its excellent acoustic characteristics. While Spruce as Phoenix is a sound art installation exhibited in an art gallery, Spruce 2 was presented at the performance arts event SAAL3 vol 3 at the Kanuti Gildi SAAL performing arts venue in Tallinn.

In Spruce 2, the central elements of the performance, along with the theatre hall itself, were three pieces of spruce plywood, each with various found objects and vibration speakers attached. Additionally, a speaker element was placed at the center of the stage floor, which is also made of spruce. Flanking the audience on both sides were two thin metal sheets, also with attached found objects and bass vibration speakers. Along with the vibration speakers, the venue’s PA system, specifically the subwoofers, was used at certain points in the sound composition to create a deep rumble, making the entire room and its contents vibrate.

The sound piece, consisting of abstract and minimalist music and soundscapes, most of which was composed at the venue during the week preceding the event, was accompanied by live lighting effects.

Duration: 19’20”

“In SAAL3, I have chosen peace, an apology in its own way. I am looking for a possibility where ‘The artist is in Saal,’ without hiding anything, oppressing or silencing it.” – Maike Lond, curator of SAAL3 vol 3