Australian artist breathes life into now defunct Morse code

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Sat, September 30, 2023 | 07:50

Exhibitions

Australian artist breathes life into now defunct Morse code

Posted : 2018-01-16 17:36

Updated : 2018-01-16 18:17

A scene from Angelica Mesiti's three-channel video installation "Relay League" (2017) / Courtesy of the artist and Artsonje Center

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Morse code was once an essential method to transmit text-based information in the 19th century, but other communication systems replaced it and it nearly went extinct as technology advanced. Australian artist Angelica Mesiti breathed new life into the practically dead medium by converting the code into a sound sculpture.

"Appel a Tous / Calling All," a mobile-like sculpture installed at the entrance of her first solo exhibit in Korea at the Art Sonje Center in central Seoul, consists of a series of short and long signals, also known as "dits" and "dahs."

It is the last message transmitted by the French Navy using Morse code on Jan. 31, 1997 -- "Calling all. This is our last cry before our eternal silence."

The sculpture encompasses the concept of transmitting and receiving in visual and audio language as the metal mobile makes a clinking sound when moving.

Angelica Mesiti's sound sculpture "Appel a Tous / Calling All" (2017) / Courtesy of the artist and Artsonje Center

"Relay League," which shares the title with the exhibition, is a three-channel video installation. Unlike common multi-channel videos, Mesiti installed three screens separately, so viewers cannot see them at once but have to move around to watch them all.

"Whether audiences are surrounded by videos or watching the video by moving around with other people gives a totally different viewing experience. I needed to separate the videos because they are anecdotes. You will experience each scene in its specialty, before moving onto the other," Mesiti said.

The first segment features a musician on a rooftop in Paris. Composer Uriel Barthelemi transferred the final Morse code message into musical characters and performs it with a variety of instruments such as cymbals and bass drum with a drumstick and brush. The rhythmic movement of the musician's performance is captured in the video from close shots to wider shots.

The video installation continues to a second screen, separated with semi-transparent walls. In the second video are two people -- one female and one male. They are dancers and the woman is guiding dance moves for a visually impaired man by touching and moving around his body. The dancers offer a unique way of communicating with each other.

The final screen puts everything together. It's dancer Felipe Lourenco, who choreographed a dance on music composed by Barthelemi. The sound of Barthelemi's percussion comes over the wall and Lourenco dances. It is also revealed the two dancers in the second video were watching Lourenco and the woman was teaching the moves to the man.

"I'm interested in movements of people in my works and how culture flows around the world for different reasons. In a moment, there is a rise and then it is gone," Mesiti said. "I'm more interested in individuals with history and experience, than faceless masses, so I choose to focus on them in my work."

The 2012 video installation "Citizens Band" showcases four immigrants remembering their homelands through a musical performance.

The woman water drumming in a Parisian swimming pool is Cameroonian immigrant Lois Geraldine Zongo. Algerian refugee Mohammed Lamourie, well-known for his performances, sings a folk ballad on the Paris Metro.

To add diversity to her work, Mesiti decided to find two more musicians in her home country of Australia and filmed Mongolian throat singer Bukchuluun Ganburged singing on a street and Sudanese-born Asim Goreshi whistling while driving his cab.

At first, each performer is screened separately, playing their own non-verbal music, but in the end all of the sounds harmonize to make beautiful music.

"It's not simply about immigration, but how music connects us. People express what is important for them through a musical performance that does not require complicated skill and I wanted to show how humankind is connected across time and space," the artist said.

The exhibit runs until Feb. 11. For more information, visit artsonje.org or call 02-733-8949.

meeyoo@ktimes.com