Between the Recognizable and the Incompatible

This year’s final exhibition at Vita Kuben features the work *In Retrograde*, in which the audience is invited into a dark room filled with sound. The title alludes to the astronomical phenomenon of retrograde motion. When a planet is in retrograde motion, it appears to move backward across the night sky, even though this is actually an optical illusion. It is as if something is moving forward while simultaneously moving backward. This paradox reflects a central aspect of the work: a movement through time and perception in which familiar sounds seem to both return and drift away.

“In Retrograde ” is composed of a series of sounds from various sources that have been woven together into a narrative or a cohesive work.

The various sounds in the work are based on field recordings and sound fragments—including sine waves, found sounds, machine-generated sounds, and recorded instruments—and range from the recognizable to the unidentifiable.

Through repetition and amplification, certain layers of sound gradually become either recognizable or altered. On several occasions, overtones and undertones emerge, creating subtle acoustic phenomena. One can also hear traces of voices as well as sounds that exist in the gray area between the recognizable and the incongruous.

As part of the exhibition project, Lundgreen is also showing other works, such as Polaroid photographs of instruments cast in plaster, as well as works that explore themes such as the personal experience of time, sound, and listening, or ideas about the circular and repetitive—but also phantom sounds. These can be seen as capriccios and études that accompany the sound piece.

Lundgreen works at the intersection of sculpture, 16 mm film, drawing, and sound, exploring analog methods of display and playback. She is interested in developing an artistic language for sound where materiality, perception, and memory converge. Through texture, repetition, and gradual shifts, she strives to create situations in which the viewer both sees and listens, but also incorporates what can no longer be heard

Between the Recognizable and the Irreconcilable

The exhibition at Vita Kuben will feature the work *In Retrograde*, and visitors will be invited into a dark space filled with sound. The title is derived from the astronomical phenomenon of retrograde motion. When a planet is in retrograde, it appears to move backward across the night sky, although this is in fact an optical illusion. It is as if something is moving forward while simultaneously moving backward. This paradox reflects a central aspect of the work: a movement through time and perception in which familiar sounds seem at once to return and to drift away.

“In Retrograde ” consists of a series of sounds from various sources that have been arranged into a narrative or a cohesive work. 

The various sounds that make up the piece are based on field recordings and sound fragments, including sine tones, found sounds, machine-generated sounds, and recorded instruments. They oscillate between the recognizable and the unidentifiable.

Throughout the piece, certain layers of sound gradually either become recognizable or change through repetition and amplification. In several instances, overtones and undertones emerge, creating subtle acoustic phenomena. But remnants of voices can also be heard, as well as sounds that fall somewhere between the recognizable and the unrecognizable.  

As part of the exhibition project, Lundgreen will also display other works, such as Polaroid images of instruments made of plaster and other works that revolve around the themes of the personal experience of time, sound, listening, studies, or ideas related to the circular, the repetitive, and phantom sounds. These can be viewed as caprices and études that accompany the sound piece.  

Lundgreen works at the intersection of sculpture, 16 mm film, drawing, and sound, exploring analog modes of display and playback. She is interested in developing an artistic language for sound in which materiality, perception, and memory converge. Through texture, repetition, and gradual shifts, she seeks to create situations in which the viewer both sees and listens, while also incorporating what can no longer be heard.