This project expands the installation work of artist Sey Parc(Park Seyeon), a member of the collective_nshp, into an auditory experience. The artist presented <Plastic Snow>(2022) at the Tongyeong International Triennale, which contained stories about coastal waste and the environment while residing in Haklimdo, Tongyeong. At the end of 2022, based on this work, they collaborated with indie musician 10 to 4 to create the electronic pop music "<Plastic Snow> with an industrial feel. They also visited Tongyeong and Ulleungdo with another member of collective_nshp, artist Sabina Hyoju Ahn, recording and presenting the unique nature, ecology, and sounds created by people in island and coastal areas.
Through the Super Testbed(supported by the Arts Management Support Center and Art Korea Lab) in 2023, they completed <Wind Traces>, reconstructing this sound in a three-dimensional manner and implementing it with Dolby Atmos and 6.1 channel surround sound.
Collective_nshp presents this project as an auditory experience realized through both popular sound and immersive sound design. They expanded the theme of the installation work <Plastic Snow>(2022), which focuses on nature, the environment, and human relationships, from visual to auditory sensations.
Plastic Snow, 2023
This project was sponsored by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Arts Management Support Center, and Arts Korea Lab.
Fieldwork schedule, Haklimdo, Tongyeong City, Gyeongsangnam-do, KR
Abandoned Styrofoam debris on the beach, Haklimdo Beach, KR
Trash collected during fieldwork, Haklimdo, KR
Deformed Styrofoam debris
Small broken pieces of Styrofoam
Traces of Styrofoam pieces left on rocks after low tide, Haklimdo Beach, KR
Video of marine debris(Styrofoam) collecting
<Plastic Snow>(2022), Sey Parc
While living on Saesom (Hakrimdo) in Tongyeong, I took walks almost every day. Along with the beautiful scenery of the island, I encountered various marine debris scattered along the coast. During these walks, I picked up the garbage. In doing so, I also noticed the waste generated by my own daily life. In Seoul, the garbage I put out would disappear by the next day. Once it vanished from sight, the garbage felt like it had disappeared from the world. However, Saesom was different. The garbage I disposed of still remained in the landfill. The rate at which garbage disappeared could not keep up with the speed at which I discarded it.
The most conspicuous garbage during coastal walks was styrofoam. The white and lightweight styrofoam gradually transformed into natural forms, and the small broken pieces created a scattered snowscape in corners, resembling the last snowfall in spring. Tongyeong is a place where snow hardly falls.
As the easily discarded plastic bottles accumulated, my heart grew heavy. When picking up styrofoam pieces alone on deserted beaches, I imagined the time when I might have to drink water filled with these small styrofoam pieces. Collecting the ‘plastic snow’ left behind in deserted spaces, I envision the time when the snow will disappear.
<Plastic Snow>(2022) Artist’s Statement
by Sey Parc
<Plastic Snow> Text notes, Sey Parc
Exhibition <Weaving islands>, Sey Parc (Photo by Ju Yong Sung)
<Plastic Snow>(2022), Sey Parc,
Scanned copy: Texts of artwork
Installation information of <Plastic Snow>(2022), Sey Parc
Marine debris(Styrofoam) from fieldwork
Plastic Snow – 10 to 4(arr. DIFF)> began as an attempt to translate the project's text into music. Drawing from the imagery of the visual installation work and the experiences collected during visits to Haklimdo and Ulleungdo, we overlaid the project's sentiments onto the music. The confined space of the islands and the repetitive act of collecting marine debris daily evoked an industrial sound. I composed the entire song by recording melodies, reminiscent of sending messages towards distant islands, amidst the wind shaking all around. Melodies sketched on the islands and compositions mainly completed on the streets of Seoul during early winter were arranged by DIFF. I completed two versions (Title, Extended ver.), where the chorus at the beginning of the Extended ver. serves as a simpler rhythmic refrain, playing the role of the song's intro. For the title track, I trimmed down the chorus for length adjustment.
Plastic Snow - 10 to 4(arr. DIFF)
Haklimdo Beach, KR
Fieldtrip, Haklimdo, KR
Music <Plastic Snow> Work process, 10 to 4
<Wind Traces - Sabina Hyoju Ahn> is a soundscape project expressing human experiences interacting with nature, based on sound recordings made during visits to Haklimdo and Ulleungdo in 2022. The harsh sound of wind penetrating the island and sounds created by humans (mainly the engine noise of large ships in this work) share similar frequencies to the point of being mistaken for noise due to their irregular nature. Drawing from this, we synchronized the two sounds at similar low frequencies for expression. The sounds audible to human ears in the unique ecological environment of the islands and coastlines are mainly the rough sound of the wind. However, in "Wind Traces," you can feel a narrative edited with sounds of nature and human activity embedded within the journey of collective_nshp.
Wind Traces
Walking, sample
Wind 02, sample
Field 01, sample
in the car, sample
Wind or Wave 01, sample
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info 01, sample
Wind Traces, excerpt, 2023