PI ANO

2018 • MATERIALS: WAXED COTTON THREAD (1mm) on 2x2cm GRID DRAWON ON LINNEN CANVAS / MDF / LIGHT BLUE GLOSS HOUSEHOLD PAINT / POETRY / SOUNDSCAPE

SIZE: 120 x 110 cm

PI ANO is a doublesided and freehanging artwork and exploration of the delicate interplay between sound, sensation, and the body’s response. The work features a tactile surface of densely knotted strings, each fiber contributing to a sensory narrative of tension and release. Evoking the subjective experience of tinnitus, the piece draws on the disruptive and often unsettling nature of sound that resides within, beyond rhythm or melody.

The knotted strings symbolize the body's nervous system, vibrating like the hairs inside the ear that respond to sound, transmitting a cacophony of internal noise. Just as tinnitus distorts the natural flow of perception, these strings mirror that same disturbance, appearing chaotic yet ordered. The layers, textures, and threads become a metaphor for the architecture of the inner ear, its sensitivity, and its fragility.

Accompanying the physical presence is a performative text that delves into the visceral nature of sound as it occupies and overwhelms. The work contemplates how subjective sound—hisses, scratches, and howls—becomes an intrusion, testing the body's capacity for tolerance. The structure shifts between control and chaos, much like the persistent rhythm of tinnitus, challenging our perception of sound as either harmonious or disruptive.

By engaging both the viewer’s visual and auditory senses, "PI ANO" immerses the audience in an intimate space where the noise of the body, mind, and environment meld into one overwhelming crescendo, only to recede and return again.

 

AUDIO WORK

Available on Soundcloud

CREDIT

Thank you to Majbritt von Løfgreen for mixing the soundwork written and created by Camilla Howalt.

Thank you to HOLKAHESTEN for inviting me to exhibit as a visiting artist.

 

EXHIBITED

2018 HOLKAHESTEN, Gudhjem Museum, Bornholm - DK

  

©️ Camilla Howalt