Recollector is a sound installation that examines the relationship between space and memory. Spaces typically retain traces of human presence only through indirect material remnants—broken bottles, graffiti, litter—while the human activity that took place there remains largely elusive and, absent witnesses, is quickly consigned to oblivion. This led us to envision a space with its own active memory: an environment capable of recording and preserving auditory traces of its inhabitants for future visitors to witness.
The installation consists of a curved metal sheet mounted on one wall, with a rotating light box on the opposite wall projecting a vertical strip of light through a slit. This beam slowly traverses the metal sculpture across a 120° arc. The metal panel itself functions as a speaker membrane, transforming the entire sculpture into a loudspeaker. The installation then captures traces of its visitors—during quiet moments, it records footsteps and voices, which are then transformed into glitches and spectral residue that emerge and fade within the audio stream.
Recollector premiered at the 2019 edition of 48 Stunden Neukölln in Berlin.
The installation consists of a curved metal sheet mounted on one wall, with a rotating light box on the opposite wall projecting a vertical strip of light through a slit. This beam slowly traverses the metal sculpture across a 120° arc. The metal panel itself functions as a speaker membrane, transforming the entire sculpture into a loudspeaker. The installation then captures traces of its visitors—during quiet moments, it records footsteps and voices, which are then transformed into glitches and spectral residue that emerge and fade within the audio stream.
Recollector premiered at the 2019 edition of 48 Stunden Neukölln in Berlin.