David Gurman
Reflector Project: 33.20N, 43.55E - 2006:
In the installation Reflector: 33.20N, 43.55E, field recordings of urban street fighting made by an American Marine in Al Fallujah, Iraq in 1994 are played by a 12-inch subwoofer that vibrates a clear water tank at subsonic frequencies. The water's surface acts as a lens for a halogen projection. The projection is a 10-foot light orb with waves emanating from its bottom axis. The waves shift over time: the orb sits silently for a few moments and then waves violently course over the surface. Viewers access the sound source by choosing to put on headphones. The intention is to create an aesthetic dissonance between the image and the sound; while visually syncopated through direct report in the water waves, the violent nature of the street fighting is at odds with the ethereal, pulsing light orb.