installation with: video projection, radio transmission with recorded audio, shortwave radio, loudspeaker, various objects, photography
exhibited at: Galleri K, Västerås
Concrete privacy in the public space
The work Legoland uses radio as its medium, also the work focuses on various aspects of numbers and communication methods within clandestine operations such as number stations or secret intelligence services the name is taken from the nickname of MI6 building in London. The audio material for the performance has been collected from various radio receivers around Europe, North America, and Asia.
exhibit overview
Broadcasting secret messages into air is a peculiar activity, since it’s indeed shared in a public space. Hence everyone could in practice tune in the actual frequency and listen to it. However, there is only one kind of listener that could decrypt the message (for i.e. special number stations) due to a simple but efficient and unbreakable method using only a paper and a pen.
video still, footage from short-wave radio spectrum analysis. Actual broadcasting spy station is in the middle position and beginning of its broadcast.
photograph
The benefits of still using radio today has the advantage of the impossibility to trace the listener in contrast to the use of computers where everything has traces of IP numbers, logs and hard-drives. Radio waves are difficult to stop and in every moment of time waves are passing borders and through people. The history of these broadcasts are to be traced back to the beginning of the radio medium itself making them the first public broadcast ever transmitted. The transmissions are unregistered and hence illegal to the FCC. Even though these type of transmissions had its peak in the cold war, they can still be heard. Some has changed its behavior to digital mode (which still is made up of numbers).
video still, a typical vintage spy recording device, Nagra SN
Power and secrecy
For the work Legoland there are aesthetic issues in the documentary material, an utterly concrete world of privacy. High strangeness and very few answers, though the material has a powerful character. Questions unfold. Power and secrecy. Why do power need secrets? The work
installation detail with shortwave radio on right
Gallery info sheet during exhibit (pdf, Swedish) >>>>>>>>>>>>
Video excerpt #1
notice that audio has two divided audio channels (mono left/right) this was used in the installation sending one mono channel to the small short-wave radio at the table and the other mono channel was sent to a loudspeaker on the wall
Click here to download Video excerpt #1
Video excerpt #2
notice that audio has two divided audio channels (mono left/right) this was used in the installation sending one mono channel to the small short-wave radio at the table and the other mono channel was sent to a loudspeaker on the wall
Click here to download Video excerpt #2
