This installation was shown in the UBCO graduation exhibition Anchor Tenant. The space was transformed into an immersive journey through the Song of Songs from the Old Testament.
The Song of Songs has incredible personal meaning for me and was the inspiration for numerous works which culminated in this final installation. The room itself is portions of the text brought to life:
At night in my bed I longed
for my only love.
I sought him, but did not find him.
I must rise and go about the city,
the narrow streets and squares, till I find
my only love.
I sought him everywhere
but I could not find him.
Two thirds of the text itself was stamped letter by letter into steel, the two voices represented by two different sizes of text, the larger the female voice and the smaller representing the male's.
The final third of the text is represented by the sound element which contained a haunting rendition of Love Song by Ofra Haza, which is a portion of the Song of Songs, overlaid with the sound of the steel being embossed with each letter.
https://youtu.be/mR1sP0hBuN8
A recurring image in the text is the pomegranate:
Then I went down to the walnut grove
to see the new green by the brook,
to see if the vine had budded,
if the pomegranate trees were in flower.
Each pomegranate was split in half and held a small piece of text. Each fruit was locked shut and the keys were held in the birds nest.
Portions of the text were also printed on small cards that the viewer was able to take.