From dark to light (2002).
Installation. White cube, rope, microphone, speakers, strobe, blacklight and floodlight.

The physical environment of ‘from dark to light’ was designed and built by Fred Sims as a tangled web of white rope across the interior of a blank, white, 10-foot square box (a room within a room) throughout which the visitor is free to climb, finding places to nestle in and rest while absorbing the sound and light.

My involvement in this installation was in the steps taken to compose and curate sound material, creating a coherent overall structure from many shorter elements. These were played all week long by a CD player on random-order continual repeat, reflecting Fred’s ideas about the juxtaposition of peace and war, gentleness and violence. Female voices singing lullabies contrast with layers of destruction and heavy weaponry. Interviews and spoken texts contrast with heavily processed electronic sounds derived from ancient musical instruments. Further, a microphone hangs in the space that registers all sound present (pre-composed as well as live sound made by the visitors) and uses pitch content to trigger strobe, blacklight and floodlight in the space.

• F. Sims and A. Beeston, “From Dark to Light,” in Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, UK. Composition and sound design for audio-visual installation. 14-18 Jun, 2002.
  [BibTeX] [link]

  @inproceedings{Sims:2002uk,
  author = {Fred Sims and Amy Beeston},
  title = {{From Dark to Light}},
  year = {2002},
  booktitle = {{Edinburgh College of Art}},
  address = {Edinburgh, UK. Composition and sound design for audio-visual installation. 14-18 Jun},
  link = {https://avbees.com/from-dark-to-light/},
  month = jun
  }