Jaakko Autio: OWLA @ OULUN TAIDEMUSEO 24.8.–26.11.2023
Completion year: 2023
Technique: Sound installation
Size: 20 kanavainen ääni-installaatio.
Keywords: Oulu, Äänimaisema, Äänitaide, JaakkoAutio, Immersio, Paikallisuus, Tulva, Kuoro, Laulu, Kathrasis, Cassiopeia, Cantio Laudis, Tuiran Kamarikuoro.
What does an internal flood feel like? Can it be dammed, or does it overflow? What kind of space could open up if everything were allowed to flow?
The word 'Owla,' meaning 'flood,' has its roots in ancient Finnish language and serves as the starting point for sound artist Jaakko Autio's (b. 1981) new multichannel sound installation. Oulu, too, derives its name from the overflowing Oulu River.
The flood is a metaphor for internal emotional storms and unexpressed feelings, that moment when tears flow. Imagery of accumulation, flowing, bursting, and surrendering influence the composition in the background. Could it be possible that when emotions are shared, they release and strengthen, intertwining?
The sound installation built in the dimly lit Tasku space of the Oulu Art Museum was composed in the spring of 2023 and recorded in Oulu in August 2023. The choirs heard in the work all operate in the Northern Ostrobothnia region.
The sound installation begins when a visitor enters the space and features speech and singing. There is a total of 240 hours of audio material, from which the computer randomly selects audible segments.
Sitting on the chairs placed in the exhibition space is recommended, and you can also change your seat to hear different sounds. You are allowed to touch the water basin placed in the center of the space.
You can rest by the artwork.