Mark Bain: orbitor

From 17 January through to 14 February 2010 the Foundation for Visual Arts Middelburg (Stichting Beeldende Kunst Middelburg) will present American artist Mark Bain’s exhibition orbitor at De Vleeshal, on the Markt. The exhibition’s opening, on 16 January at 5 p.m., will be marked by an audio performance by Mark Bain. In orbitor, Mark Bain uses the De Vleeshal itself, once Middelburg’s town hall, as an instrument. As do all buildings, De Vleeshal produces sound: the resonant history of different materials in time and space. Here electricity, radio waves and other social systems continually circulate; hidden movements of which we are not always aware. Inspired by the imposing Gothic architecture of De Vleeshal’s space, orbitor works as a hybrid project that combines elements which both capture and communicate the architectural moment (rendering the architecture audible, translated into time through sound: a unique random moment). De Vleeshal’s vaulted ceiling, its masonry walls and black-and-white chessboard mosaic floor all combine to form a matrix of audio reproductive surfaces. However, orbitor also has a strong visual element: Bain’s monumental work Sonusphere. This plastic orb – 6 metres in diameter – is linked up to a variety of sensors that record, amplify and reproduce the sounds produced by De Vleeshal: its bell tower; the ‘trumpeting’ of its under floor heating and ventilation system; and the resonance of external factors such as the weather and the hubbub emanating from Middelburg’s market square. Bain catches these sounds and transmutes them into a new audio environment. Mark Bain has lived in Amsterdam since the late 1990’s. His works originate on the intersection of sound, architecture and conceptual/experimental integration. Bain has been involved with an investigation of sound and architecture and the influence of sound on bodies and buildings. This research also encompassed an exploration of the sculptural aspects of sound: how do resonating materials define structures within a space? Preceding Bain’s presentation at De Vleeshal, the exhibition Published by: Roma Publications will open at De Kabinetten van De Vleeshal, at 4.p.m. on Saturday 16 January at Zusterstraat 7. On this occasion, Roma Publications latest issuing – In Dark Trees by Rob Johannesma – will be presented. Mark Bain’s orbitor and Published by: Roma Publications will be closed by a lecture by Jan Hoet at De Vleeshal on 14 February. De Vleeshal