Abstract
“I have been to this land called Hasla.
I remember when I entered it, a sign read:
Welcome to Hasla!
A faraway land in which everything appears to be as strange as familiar; a place to which you have never traveled, yet one that resembles eerily every town you have visited before; a town at which as soon as you arrive, you realize that you have already left.
A Travel Log: From Fwarrheu to Hejning is a collection of sound installations that are part of Welcome to Hasla, a project that Suk-Jun Kim has worked since he arrived in Berlin and consists of several electroacoustic compositions and sound installations. Much like the musical compositions, A Travel Log: From Fwarrheu to Hejning seeks ways to Hasla, an imaginary region whose existence can only be known to us through the sounds and artifacts brought from this mysterious land and the experience witnessed by the traveler who has apparently crossed it.
A Travel Log: From Fwarrheu to Hejning consists of four sound installations:
Mnemon
one-channel video and two-channel audio installation with a wooden board (2009)
On the TV screen, a teller (or the traveler himself) continues to name the cities in Hasla, and a wooden board on the desk shows the trace of the traveler who struggled not to forget those names by writing them on it again and again. We can no longer know what these cities are called, and are only left with the sounds of the scribbling on the plate.
Memory Tub (in collaboration with Sung-Eun Kim)
Five-channel audio installation with a small tub (2009)
"I don't remember any of it."
"You were there, though, weren't you?"
"Yes, but things are getting blurred, you know. it's no wonder, really. I don't remember much of what happened yesterday anyway."
"But you said you were there. Is that all you now remember? That you once existed in that place?"
"That is the thing. I don't remember it, but somehow, my body knows it—that I was there. I can feel it, you know. It really is a strange feeling. It's kind of a deja vu—you don't remember having been there, having seen or experienced it, but somehow, you just know that it is part of your past. But it is strange because, though it is part of your past, it is not part of you. I know that this is not helping me much to remember it as I think you said so the other day, but I can't help it just as I can't help but to know my having being there even though I don't remember it. For they are the same. They feel same to me: they both happen immediately, so much so that I am appalled every time it does. Then comes the sense of coldness as if somebody put a knife on my tongue."
Souvenirs for Your Itineraries
60-channel sound installation with piezo discs (2009)
These are the sounds that the traveler has collected while exploring deep into Hasla. They are archaic, showing the vestige of either some dialects spoken only in certain parts of the region or the sounds you may experience while crossing there. Listen closely and you will hear stories of how places in Hasla came into being. Grab one or two and bring them close to your ears! They are for your itineraries to Hasla.
Sound Screen: Hejning (in Collaboration with Sung-Eun Kim)
12-channel sound installation (2009)
Sit back and enjoy this 50-minute soundscape piece, which will take you to Hejning, a city in Hasla. While this is not a documentary, it might as well be viewed in that way. Draw whatever comes to you on these screens where there is nothing to see. Sounds will guide you to Hejning.
I remember when I entered it, a sign read:
Welcome to Hasla!
A faraway land in which everything appears to be as strange as familiar; a place to which you have never traveled, yet one that resembles eerily every town you have visited before; a town at which as soon as you arrive, you realize that you have already left.
A Travel Log: From Fwarrheu to Hejning is a collection of sound installations that are part of Welcome to Hasla, a project that Suk-Jun Kim has worked since he arrived in Berlin and consists of several electroacoustic compositions and sound installations. Much like the musical compositions, A Travel Log: From Fwarrheu to Hejning seeks ways to Hasla, an imaginary region whose existence can only be known to us through the sounds and artifacts brought from this mysterious land and the experience witnessed by the traveler who has apparently crossed it.
A Travel Log: From Fwarrheu to Hejning consists of four sound installations:
Mnemon
one-channel video and two-channel audio installation with a wooden board (2009)
On the TV screen, a teller (or the traveler himself) continues to name the cities in Hasla, and a wooden board on the desk shows the trace of the traveler who struggled not to forget those names by writing them on it again and again. We can no longer know what these cities are called, and are only left with the sounds of the scribbling on the plate.
Memory Tub (in collaboration with Sung-Eun Kim)
Five-channel audio installation with a small tub (2009)
"I don't remember any of it."
"You were there, though, weren't you?"
"Yes, but things are getting blurred, you know. it's no wonder, really. I don't remember much of what happened yesterday anyway."
"But you said you were there. Is that all you now remember? That you once existed in that place?"
"That is the thing. I don't remember it, but somehow, my body knows it—that I was there. I can feel it, you know. It really is a strange feeling. It's kind of a deja vu—you don't remember having been there, having seen or experienced it, but somehow, you just know that it is part of your past. But it is strange because, though it is part of your past, it is not part of you. I know that this is not helping me much to remember it as I think you said so the other day, but I can't help it just as I can't help but to know my having being there even though I don't remember it. For they are the same. They feel same to me: they both happen immediately, so much so that I am appalled every time it does. Then comes the sense of coldness as if somebody put a knife on my tongue."
Souvenirs for Your Itineraries
60-channel sound installation with piezo discs (2009)
These are the sounds that the traveler has collected while exploring deep into Hasla. They are archaic, showing the vestige of either some dialects spoken only in certain parts of the region or the sounds you may experience while crossing there. Listen closely and you will hear stories of how places in Hasla came into being. Grab one or two and bring them close to your ears! They are for your itineraries to Hasla.
Sound Screen: Hejning (in Collaboration with Sung-Eun Kim)
12-channel sound installation (2009)
Sit back and enjoy this 50-minute soundscape piece, which will take you to Hejning, a city in Hasla. While this is not a documentary, it might as well be viewed in that way. Draw whatever comes to you on these screens where there is nothing to see. Sounds will guide you to Hejning.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 2009 |