MEDITATIVE TRASH
Sound installation
Author: Olesya Ilenok
Personal exhibition at Listen Gallery, Glasgow as a part of The Listening Biennial 2023. Supported by Creative Scotland.
04/08/23 - 08/08/23
Glasgow is a city affected by litter pollution. Traces of human waste can be found in the city center and other areas. For this project, the artist collected rubbish from around the city to turn it into a rubbish orchestra.
The sound installation Meditative Trash was created especially for the international The Listening Biennial 2023. The installation consists of 6 autonomous objects. Each object is made up of found rubbish, cardboard, eco tape, and a motor. Programmed to a certain amplitude of movement, the rubbish makes different sounds. Some of the objects are very noisy and loud. Some are very quiet and gentle. In this case, litter, which we tend to ignore on the street as something unpleasant, becomes more than just the focus of the installation. It stands under the spotlights in the middle of a contemporary art gallery and forces the viewer to listen carefully and consider it.
During the exhibition, visitors were invited to bring in their own rubbish collected from the streets of Glasgow. An interactive zone allowed them to explore the sound possibilities of any rubbish using artist-prepared tools made of different materials and a contact microphone. At the end of the exhibition, the venue was filled with rubbish brought in by visitors.

The litter and the installation were recycled after the exhibition ended.
2023