2025 | installation with music and lights
Photo: Evert Palmets
“Bonfire” is a sound installation featuring 8-channel audio and lights. The performative installation incorporates old and discarded physical media carriers such as audio tape, film strips, vinyl records, CDs, and film reel cans. These objects are reanimated through the use of various speaker elements attached to them and stage lighting directed at them. The installation performs an original sound piece composed of abstract and minimalist music and soundscapes, accompanied by dim, warm, and shifting lights. Together, these elements form a metaphorical bonfire. The audience is invited to gather around it, to listen to the abstract stories told by the fire and its quiet crackling.
“Bonfire” was created for the finissage of the 19th Tallinn Print Triennial and was presented on the stage of the concert hall at the Lindakivi Cultural Centre in Tallinn, 29 August 2025.
Cycle duration: 13′
Special thanks to Sten Saarits and The Film Archives of The National Archives of Estonia!
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Video and audio editing: Lauri Lest
Thumbnail photo: Evert Palmets
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Photos: Evert Palmets
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Technical and organisational details
NB! Please consult the artist before making any major decisions based on the following details.
Description
At the center of the room stands an abstract sculpture, approximately 2.5 meters high, composed of hanging audio tape, empty tape reels, vinyl records and a film reel box. Two metal stands form the supporting structure of the piece.
Surrounding the sculpture, three film cans filled with tangled bundles of film tape are placed on the floor, each about 2.5 meters from the center.
Vibration speakers are attached to various parts of the sculpture and embedded inside the surrounding film cans. Stage lights positioned on the floor illuminate the central structure, while concealed LED strips within the film cans create subtle, shifting glows. The installation plays an original composition of sound and dim light.
Cycle duration: varies
Additionally, it’s possible to organize short concert-like sessions, inviting people to gather around the “Bonfire” and listen to the music.
Room requirements
Minimum room size: 6×6 m, height 3 m
As dark and quiet as possible.
Space to hide a computer and audio and lighting equipment — minimum internal dimensions approx. 60 × 60 × 60 cm, with a power outlet nearby.
Security
The installation includes a computer and audio and lighting equipment.
Transportation
To be discussed…
Lauri Lest 