ANDY WEBSTER
PLAYING D.E.A.D.
PLAYING D.E.A.D. (2024)
Materials: 14 Salvaged Horns, Compression Drivers, Plantwave Devices, Guitar pedals, Tree leaves [dimensions 10m x 2m x 2m]
The work reimagines Bruce Nauman's meditation on death, 'Violin Tuned D.E.A.D.' (1969), by replacing the human performer with sounds generated in real-time by the electrical activity of trees. Utilising biodata devices tuned to the notes D, E, A, and D, the sound of the four trees is fed through death metal guitar pedals, then amplified to generate an absurd mortality song.
A field recording of the work in Ebersberger Forst, nr. Munich, Germany.
The project was developed with the support of curator Peter Kees for ‘War Aspects - Artistic interventions in Bavaria’, Germany [2024].