Impossible Composition

Anna Schwartz Gallery

Curated by Anaïs Lellouche

24 March - 21 April 2018

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Images courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery. Photo: Zan Wimberley

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‘Impossible Composition’ gathers an entirely new body of work reflecting Beer’s experiences as the 21st Biennale of Sydney’s artist in residence at the Sydney Opera House. It extends his oeuvre at the intersection of architecture, sound and image; exploring the cultural specificity of sound and the entanglement of music with political and social histories. A major new sound piece, composed with the voices of four singers performing in the four tips of the Sydney Opera House concert hall roof, resonates from four individually suspended speakers. This constellation mirrors the relative height of the singers as they performed autobiographical melodies within each roof sail, creating a duet between body and building. The piece is the only trace of a performance commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney at the Sydney Opera House, which was not able to be made public.

A new series of Beer’s two-dimensional sculptures made from fractured cross-sections of violins and cellos surrounds the sound installation. These pieces draw on the design principles of the Sydney Opera House architect Jørn Utzon, who saw the space, ‘like a violin’ and was guided by the instrument’s ‘evolution toward perfection’. Experiencing these works as the evocative sound installation fills the gallery, creates an environment that encourages us to ‘hear with our eyes – or see with our ears.’