Gayle Young

Lights & Sounds - Musicwoks Toronto 1998

Inexpresive mass-produced items made in Hong-Kong, China or Taiwan for the international souvenier market are the first things one notices in this installation. Some objects have light bulbs that turn on and off in static rhythms. These simple mechanisms control instruments of different kinds, their patterns transformed into music, the combination creationg a unique polyrhythm. The souvenirs, commercial products which embody a popular global aesthetic, are placed in new perceptual contexts as the installation integrates light and sound with the figurative forms of the objects, highlighting associative, individual and synästhetic perception.