Sound of Decay

The Sound of Decay is an ephemeral sonic installation, where a ‘sculpture’ of fruits, vegetables, and other food items, are parts of a circuit of oscillators, set to play out different frequencies and play a melody.

Ephemeral, the melody goes out of pitch and out of tune hour by hour, day by day, as the food rots, until, ultimately, it stops.

The sculpture is placed under a dome, elevated on a table to waist level. A headset invites the audience to listen in at the melody. An oscilloscope connected to the circuit output mimics a sort of heart monitor, as it displays the electric charge going through the circuit.

The inspiration for this project came from my newfound fascination with organic decay and the evolution of matter through time (and the notion of ‘rien ne se perd, tout se transforme’), more specifically in regards to our human tendency to hold on to what once was but no longer is. Rotting matter smells, it changes in appearance and to the touch, but it is strikingly silent.

Throughout this project, I was driven by the concepts of grief, loss, acceptance, death and ultimately, life. The Sound of Decay aims to give a voice to the reality most of us try to quiet; that all things end.