Christian Skjødt: The Receiver
Sounds of electromagnetic radiation from the sun, transformed into audible material.
The Receiver explores the transformation of energy from electromagnetic emanations of the sun into sound; this audible radiation fills the otherwise empty building.
Installed in the cylindrical building is a radio telescope fitted with a specialised antenna and receiver that operates in the microwave region of the radio frequency portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The telescope follows the Sun, as the Earth revolves around it, receiving electromagnetic radiation that has traveled the 150 million km. This captured energy is the source material of the immersive sonic environment created inside the silo.
Here, the frequency spectrum of the sound can be experienced as you move up the 45 meter tall building. You go from low frequency to high frequency material, and here you will find that the sound exceeds both the highest and lowest frequencies that humans are able to hear.
The project is conceptualised by Christian Skjødt and realised in collaboration with engineers, acousticians and other specialists at Bang & Olufsen.
About the artist
Christian Skjødt (1980) is a Danish artist and composer. He lives and works in Copenhagen. Working in the intersection between sound, visual art, and science, Skjødt’s work aim to challenge our sensory perception and point towards its limitations. Often working site-specific, exploring natural and scientific phenomena, Skjødt creates large scale installations and immersive environments consisting of autonomous systems. His works can be seen as manifestations or witnesses of what we as human beings are unable to perceive, and of the boundaries between our sensory apparatus and the materiality of the world.
Skjødt has presented his works at galleries, museums, festivals, and concert spaces throughout the world, including Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Mois Multi in Quebec Canada, A plus A Gallery in Venice, Műcsarnok Kunsthalle Budapest, Sound Reasons in New Delhi, Skan II / Skanu Mežs in Riga, Üle Heli in Tallinn, Ostrava Days in Czech Republic, Ultima in Oslo, Overgaden – Institute of Contemporary Art in Copenhagen and Museum of Contemporary Art Denmark. Christian Skjødt’s work has been awarded by Prix Ars Electronica and Japan Media Arts Festival, and he holds an MA from the Royal Academy of Music, Denmark.
Website: www.skjodt.net
‘The Receiver’, 2019, Christian Skjødt. Photo: Lise Johansson
‘The Receiver’, 2019, Christian Skjødt. Photo: Lise Johansson