Recently shortlisted for a CODAaward – which ‘celebrate the projects that most successfully integrate commissioned art into interior, architectural, or public spaces’ – Emergence is a large-scale immersive audiovisual installation by Irish artist Alan Hayes.
The work features Void Acoustics’ sculpted Cyclone 55, an IP-55 rated loudspeaker chosen for the artwork as is predominantly displayed in outside environments.
With Harriet Lumby, Hayes is co-founder of This is Loop – a collaborative artistic partnership that tours large-scale experiential architectural installations and sculptures to city centres and events across the UK and the world. As the creator and architect of Emergence, he was adamant about his decision to work with Void Acoustics on this particular sculpture. The brief was to provide the audio aspect of the installation whilst essentially becoming an integral part of the artwork itself. Having worked for many years in the events industry, he says that Void Acoustics systems have made a lasting impression on him as one of the highest quality audio manufacturers in the industry.
Due to the nature of Emergence as an ‘immersive and playful’ audiovisual art installation, Hayes wanted a sound system that would not only meet high expectations for quality audio, but also have a visual aesthetic in keeping with, and integrate seamlessly into, the art piece itself.
‘We had to consider our audio requirement from an artistic point of view as well as the sonic quality of what we installed,’ he says. ‘Everything we did on this project had to reflect the look and the form of the sculpture itself. Thus, the integration of a high level aesthetically-pleasing solution, with incredible audio quality was essential.’
With Void’s distinctive fibreglass enclosures, Hayes saw Cyclone 55 as the obvious choice.
The installation’s structure consists of 75 large mirror nodes covered on all surfaces with a mirror finish, arranged in an 11ft high, 30ft diameter cylindrical pavilion style structure. Emergence features a mesmerising and highly complex array of light patterns and visual illusions choreographed to an accompanying soundtrack.
‘Due to the cylindrical size and shape of the structure we were creating, we needed a wide dispersion to enable the speakers to properly fill the space,’ Hayes explains. ‘And with their integrated cable glands, and the 110° horizontal dispersion, the Cyclone 55s were a perfect match.’
Hayes and his team have been thrilled with the result, stating that the Void Acoustics system has performed faultlessly on every install, delivering perfect sound quality. ‘Void Acoustics delivers an unparalleled combination of audio excellence with high level aesthetic design qualities. There is just no one else out there who is combining these two attributes. Simply put, Void Acoustics was the only choice for us.’
More: www.voidacoustics.com
