The Sound of Framing

2005-2010, visual and sound installation, mixed materials, 58 x 42 x 120 cm

The space is filled with the rhythmic sound of a ping pong ball bouncing, with its pace alternating between fast and slow, suggesting the spatial limitations of the ball’s movement. The sound draws attention to a white book placed on an inclined pedestal, with the title “Le Son du Cadrage” (The Sound of Framing) inscribed on its cover. Upon opening the book, one discovers a small screen embedded within its pages, displaying a dynamic video of an orange ping pong ball repeatedly colliding with the edges of a white frame and rebounding. The ping pong ball's movement showcases varying dynamics, speeds, and rhythms. The pixelated orange ball, mimicking a physical object in real space, triggers corresponding sounds with each collision of differing intensity. These sounds reveal the interplay between the image and the frame, defining the spatiality of the video itself and imbuing the virtual frame with a sense of materiality. Through the interaction of sound and image, the work presents the confined movements of a ping pong ball within the frame’s boundaries. It invites viewers, guided by auditory stimulation, to shift their visual focus to the "resonant boundaries" of the digital image, thereby re-examining the very concept of the frame in visual representation.

*"Le Son du Cadrage" (The Sound of Framing) was created in 2005 and was later exhibited in 2010 at the "Ephemeral Resonance" exhibition held at the Théâtre des Halles in Avignon, France. It is part of the series "Ping Pong at Uneven Speeds."