ko'kong is a new collaboration between visual artist Alexandra Jegerstedt and composer Martin Smidt. The sculpture consists of welded and bent steel, Polymorph plastic, and a multichannel sound composition derived from the sculpture's own material sounds. Together, Jegerstedt and Smidt explore the tension between industry and nature by investigating the organic potential of steel and plastic. Form and sound have evolved in close dialogue and are mutually dependent.
Within the sculpture, visitors can hear traces of its own making. The soundscape is based on recordings of melting plastic and steel being welded, bent, and polished. At the same time, the sculpture generates live sound through subtle internal mechanical movements that are activated when someone approaches.
The abstract visual language has been developed through an ongoing dialogue between the artists' distinct visual and auditory practices. Together, they have sought to listen to the inherent qualities of the materials. The steel bends—both as sculpture and as sound.
BIO
Alexandra Jegerstedt (b. 1986, Trondheim) lives and works in Trondheim and Oslo. She studied at the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art, NTNU and the The Academy of Fine Art at the University of Bergen. Her practice encompasses drawing, painting, digital weaving, and sculpture, with a particular interest in abstraction, intuition, and process-based methods.
Martin Smidt (b. 1969, Lund) lives and works in Trondheim. He holds a degree in Musicology and Composition from NTNU. His artistic practice is characterised by interdisciplinary collaborations, including numerous commissioned works for theatre and the performing arts across Norway, as well as several sound art projects.