Aeolian Pavillon
2021
Sound Sculpture
2,5 x 2 x 2 meters
Birch, cedar, strings, metal

Struer Tracks Sound Art Biennale
Struer Lydens By

photo by Mikkel Kaldal

Aeolian Pavillon is a reinterpretation of the pavillon as an architectural figure, which Ragnhild May in this piece functionally merges with the Aeolus harp that originated in Greece, and was particularly widespread during the Romantic period. The resulting structure is both, an architectural building, and at the same time an instrument, a large sound box that you can step into. Ragnhild May has been inspired both by speaker and boat construction for the pavillon’s shape and aesthetics. Built on the basis of a geometric logic with four wind traps, each of which vibrates a string og different lengths and fundamental frequencies, a sound is created of almost supernatural and ghostly overtones. The work translates the almost constant wind of Struer harbour into sounds that mix with the area’s own soundscape of clattering mast lines and whistling wind in the boat houses. The 4 funnels frame the view in different directions and visitors can experience Odden’s diverse landscape to the sound of the wind’s evocative music.