Sonya Rademeyer

“Architecture of Sound” was created during the 2018 Tankwa Artscape Residency, held at Stonehenge Farm in the arid Tankwa Karoo (South Africa).

 

The aridness of the Tankwa Karoo is both daunting and inspirational. The environment is harsh and this is especially reflected in the multiple, dense scattering of stones to be seen into the far distance. There is little vegetation. During our residency in 2018, strong winds blew and icy temperatures challenged our art-making. As I had selected to create within an abandoned water reservoir, I was partially protected against these elements.

 

Having sourced dried and caked clay from the (only) riverbed on Stonehenge Farm, I started a 3-day laborious process whereby I ground the clay into the finest powder possible. The clay powder needed to be ultra-fine, as my intention was to create a ‘sound drawing’ from this earth material. As works needed to be ephemeral, I planned on mixing the finely ground powder with wood glue to create a large scaled sound drawing.

 

I had expected to be able to capture more natural /environmental sounds than what was audible in the Tankwa, but did manage to log some bird and primarily wind sounds. These sounds I translated into “Architecture of Sound” which I managed to complete in three days.

 

With the first floods in the Tankwa Karoo, “Architecture of Sound” was washed away.

 

Short video here