Project
[05] The Last Sound 🍃
2024
Project: Sound Art Installation
Project Cycle:4 months
Size: 10m2
I have found that when people die, most of their loved ones choose to
bury their remains in a cemetery. As time passes, they reintegrate into
the earth like fallen leaves, or you could say that they leave their last
traces in the world in a new form. Therefore, I wanted to find the traces
left by my grandfather in this way. I used a microscope to observe soil
samples from my grandfather's grave in real time, controlling and
generating sound through the movement of the sample's
microorganisms. I thought that maybe this was the only way I could
prove his existence.🦠
I've always wanted to do a project on death and traces. The reason for this is that in the
year 2020, due to a viral outbreak, I have heard of the deaths of several friends with
whom I was or still am close, and there has been a steady stream of mourners on the
school's homepage who are former professors or staff members of the school. Three of
my relatives have also died in recent years due to illness or accident. My grandfather,
for example, died suddenly of the new coronavirus, even though he was fine an hour
before.🚶️
I feel like I've heard so much similar news in recent years, and I don't know how to describe
it every time I hear such news. It ranges from shock to sadness to numbness,
with relationships ranging from distant to close. But no matter what that moment was,
it always felt like that moment when a great, great distance was suddenly drawn between
me and them.💭️
Countless times I was told that death was inevitable, and I knew it was. But when it happens,
I still feel especially sudden. I felt like there was so much I hadn't said, and it seemed like
there was something he or they hadn't said to me. In that moment, I felt like there was a
huge gap between me and them. It's hard for me to describe the gap. It just feels like
suddenly all connections or signals are cut off. Even if he's right in front of you, you feel
like he's far away. I felt like I could still tell him what I wanted to tell him through social media,
but I realised that I was no longer likely to get any response. So I started trying to find signs
that my grandfather still existed.