Whispering Garden

Whispering Garden is an artwork in public space that is going to be realized next to Hotel New York on the "Kop van Zuid" in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The work is based on the myths of Lorelei and the Sirens, luring the ships onto the rocks. Multiple wind properties (direction, speed and duration) are used to control computer generated female voices. The voices are singing vowels of which the overtones are merging, separating and traveling between the different voices. All the overtones are spatialized individually. The wind is blowing the overtones in different directions and pitches and therefor creating temporary combinations of overtones at certain locations that form the voices. The result is a polyphonic forest of sounds and overtones. The steel structure brings the tendrils from Mucha's hair-arabesques into a system of crossings and mergings supporting green glass panels. The faceted glass shatters the light into many directions, and with every step we take there will be a new flicker, a new variation of emerald shading. Whispering Garden is a synaesthetic node, short-circuiting all elements and forces that are present at the location, making everything sensuous and sensible.