For Florian Hecker’s first show at Sadie Coles HQ he presents Pentaphonic Dark Energy. Superimposed onto the existing gallery structure, Pentaphonic Dark Energy creates an environment in which body and architecture intersect. Across five loudspeakers sonic sequences combine to create the impression that space is being sculpted. As the piece develops, it builds into a series of opposites and contradictions: stable and uneven, fast and slow, loud and quiet. The title of the piece comes from physical cosmology in which 'dark energy' is a hypothetical form of energy that is found in space and responsible for the expansion of the universe. “Pentaphonic”, directly references its form. Also in the show is another abstract sound piece made of short cycles interspersed with perceived silences, contrasting with Pentaphonic Dark Energy’s almost narrative flow. Using super directional speakers the sound is superlatively focused. Elsewhere on the floor, in stark contrast to the two other sound pieces, sits a monochromatic cube made out of coarse, cyan foam that is more usually used as part of a microphone, a device for absorbing the sound of wind, but also suggestive of a minimalist sculpture and Hecker's rigorous engagement with conceptual practices of the 1970s.
Hecker’s work is concerned with how to manipulate psychoacoustic effects in order to distort and shift spatial perception. Working in performance, studio and installation, collaboration is core to Hecker's practice. He works frequently with software engineers, scientists as well as other artists such as Russell Haswell, Yasunao Tone and Cerith Wyn Evans. Often spoken of in relation to the avant garde composer, Iannis Xenakis, Hecker tirelessly explores old and new systems of creating and working with sound. Notably with Russell Haswell he has revisited and reworked Xenakis' UPIC (Unit Polyagogique Informatique de CEMAMu) sound system in which an electronic pen is used to draw lines onto a board which are then directly translated into sound. Hecker’s solo work continues to explore ways of sound invention and sonic imaging through complex organisation and development processes.
Hecker was born in 1975 in Kissing, Germany. He has presented his work internationally and extensively including as part of The Morning Line, a groundbreaking new experimental project by Matthew Ritchie, Aranda/Lasch and Arup AGU, commissioned by ThyssenBornemisza Art Contemporary, currently presented at Biacs3, Seville, Spain; Manifesta 7, South Tyrol, Italy, 2008; WDR, Cologne, Germany, 2007; Kunsthaus, Graz, Austria, 2007; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville, Paris, France, 2006; Casa Da Musica, Porto, Portugal, 2005; Ars Electronica, Linz, Austria, 2003; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France, 2002; Royal Festival Hall, London, UK, 2002; and La Biennale di Venezia, 49th International Exhibition of Art, Venice, Italy, 2001. Publications include ars viva 07/08 - Sound, Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI, Frankfurt, 2007. In addition, he has an extensive discography including Haswell and Hecker, Blackest Ever Black, CD, Warner Classics, 2007.
For further information please contact the gallery at +44 (0)20 7493 8611 or press@sadiecoles.com