Crowd Shyness: the sound of its making

Artist/Creator: Germaine Koh (Artist)
Date: 2020
ID #: BG6034

Physical Description

Medium: resin, wood, mixed media
Support: –
Dimensions: –
Object Description: Hollowed cedar stump, drum head, hardware, drum sticks and resin

On rainy days, set it outside to receive the rain.
Play along if you wish, letting the rain take the lead.

At the invitation of the Belkin, Germaine Koh worked with Gallery staff during Summer 2020 to develop COVID-19 safety and visitor interaction protocols that recognized the importance of collective care and teamwork. She used a number of cedar tree stumps on site to indicate physical distancing stations, guided by the metaphor of crown shyness -- the phenomenon by which trees grow with distinct spaces between themselves, to avoid spreading pests and damaging each other. In the context of COVID, the human equivalent is “crowd shyness” — keeping one’s distance as a form of conscious citizenship. For the Soundings exhibition, Koh adapted one of the cedar stumps to give it voice, by hollowing it and fitting it with a drum head that will sound when it is left out in the rain.

History

Collection: –
Credit Line: Purchased with support from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Morris and Helen Belkin Foundation, 2021
Related Exhibitions: Soundings: An Exhibition in Five Parts

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