Open Air (2016), a site specific installation at the dilapidated Sokolowsko Sanatorium in Poland, was completed during an A-i-R Wro residency for the Sanatorium of Sound festival, organized by Contemporary Art Foundation In Situ.
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Open Air in Sokolowsko, Poland. Photo by Tomek Ogrodowczyk
Open Air in Sokolowsko, Poland. Photo by Tomek Ogrodowczyk
Artist Notes:
The installation was completed over a week-long residency at Sokolowsko.
Open Air was created after much research on tuberculosis, the history of medicine in the early 20th century, and ongoing personal experience with illness.
Open Air revealed the movements of air in two forms--breath and wind. The installation site was a small outdoor space in the sanatorium which had recently been fortified with structuralwork in the walls and ceiling for safety.
Four-channel audio was created from layers of breath and sounds recorded inside the building.
Audio samples:
Additionally, large "privacy" curtains made from loosely woven medical gauze, suspended from the ceiling of the Sanatorium, billowed from the wind blowing through the open windows and hallways.
In the early 20th century, the Sokolowsko sanitorium operated as a specialized treatment center for tuberculosis., where patients were sent to heal in the microclimatic air. The sanatorium is currently dilapadated after an arsonist set fire to the building.