Bureau Collective
Panatom Gallery presents Bureau Collective
‘Singing seven bridges builds circles in the water’
A glass of water stands on a subwoofer. Concentric waves are visible on the surface of the water, with no apparent cause.
A quiet, moving image; an unexpected, slight touch; an inspiration in a quivering moment.
Bureau Collective (Ruedi Zürcher, Ollie Schaich, Larissa Kasper, Rosario Florio, Samuel Bänziger, Olivier Hug, Dominic Rechsteiner) takes the theme of inspiration as an opportunity to place the interface between graphic design and artistic work under the microscope – going back a few steps to the moment of inspiration that has already been a point of departure for the design of an applied product, and from there examining what creative process develops in the absence of prescribed, functional requirements.
A hollowed-out subwoofer stands in the middle of the room. No audible deep bass is emitted, but a wind blows, silent yet noticeable. The subwoofer is connected to a record player, where a record spins in an endless loop. The music appears on large posters on the opposite wall.
Each of the seven designers from Bureau Collective created a poster that represents a song: via lyrical fragments, or symbolically, a sequence of bass frequencies. The paper is fixed to the wall in static waves, creating rhythm and melody via three-dimensional waves of paper and typography, a visual soundtrack.
The opposite wall is covered entirely in sound-proofing foam, reducing background noise and improving the room’s acoustics. To the viewer’s surprise, though the soundwaves and bass go to the bone, the exhibition space is filled with silence. Wind blows from the speaker and touches the viewer. Some songs one might know, the melody and rhythm recalled instantly. Now they appear silently. Is something missing?
Or perhaps not?
