Light Conversation

Jim Bell, lives and works in Montreal, Canada

“Light Conversation” is an audio installation examining how language and meaning are influenced by chaotic systems. I have recorded interviews with subjects speaking various languages, asking them about their ideas and feelings concerning language and interpersonal communication.
These sound recordings are used as the raw material for the piece. The recordings are edited and the vocal utterances are divided into individual phonemes. These components are then recombined within a system that is directed by weather patterns. Solar panels will collect energy to power motors attached to mechanical triggers which in turn will initiate the playback of the sounds. In this way language is broken down and reconstituted in a random fashion, creating new sonic associations and providing an environment for reflection on meaning and communication.
Jim Bell is a new media artist based in Montreal, Canada. He has performed and presented in Canada, United States, Australia and Italy, working predominately in audio/video installation using interactive sensor technology. His work explores correlations between natural and constructed worlds, obsolescence and novelty, control and communication. Jim would like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts for their generous support for this project.