'Eclipse' for harmonicas, hair dryer, and vacuum cleaner

Eclipse/식 installed at Projectspace SL
Jaegone Kim's solo Exhibition "Water, Mark", 김재곤 개인전 "물, 음표"
04/13-05/11/2024, Seoul, 서울

The harmonica operates through inhaling and exhaling, which activates the instrument. Therefore, music written for the harmonica primarily utilizes rhythms and patterns humans can achieve through inhaling and exhaling. I pondered beyond music created within the limits set by human breath and wondered if there could be a way for it to resonate endlessly. It was a kind of desire for eternity. I discovered tools around me that generate wind: a vacuum cleaner and a hairdryer. A vacuum cleaner sucks in air, and a hairdryer blows it out, which can be likened to human inhaling and exhaling. When these two face each other and are activated, they create artificial airflow along with the sound they produce. The white noise-like sound they produce here prepares the ears as if priming an empty canvas. Placing a harmonica between the vacuum cleaner and the hairdryer allows the harmonica to produce uninterrupted sound due to the airflow. As the harmonica passes between the vacuum cleaner and the hairdryer, the notes accumulate and form chords depending on their position. Then, they gradually diminish to one or two notes before eventually disappearing into the white noise-like sound produced by the vacuum cleaner and the hairdryer.

Filmed by KyeongWoo Nam
Edited by Jaegone Kim