LISTENING SCULPTURE | United Nations & HEAD – Genève | 2022
The LISTENING SCULPTURE presents the United Nations as an institution that is ‘listening to the people’. It consists of a parabolic mirror that reflects sound waves to amplify the volume of a distant audio source. Recordings of spoken messages to the UN are played off a small speaker and can only be heard when sitting precisely in front of the sculpture.
The public sculpture was installed inside the galleries of the United Nations Secretariat Building in New York from May to September 2022. The department of Interior Architecture at HEAD – Genève ran a workshop with a selected group of students to design and build the installation.
The sculpture consists of 193 pieces, which equals the number of member states of the United Nations. The wooden boards used to form the mirror were leftover materials found in the wood workshop of the school. The cut offs from the production process were then integrated into the base of the sculpture and the stool.
The colourful materials refer to the diversity of the people that contributed to the recordings and to the various backgrounds of the 17 participating students with roots in Switzerland, South Korea, Belgium, Portugal, Cambodia, France, the US, Palestine, Portugal, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Madagascar and Colombia.
Students taking part in the workshop: Débora De Almeida Borralho, Lubna Behey, Ségolène Davister, Carla Duarte, Tibo Frey, Stéphanie Golaz, Célie Grobet, Hwang Gyeonghwan, Jinuk Hong, Aurora Lajci, Thaïs De Limoges, Antoine Matta, Vera Neuenschwander, Elioth Puthod, Daniel Ruiz, Louise Tjittes, Maya Saëlle Venetz.
The public sculpture was installed inside the galleries of the United Nations Secretariat Building in New York from May to September 2022. The department of Interior Architecture at HEAD – Genève ran a workshop with a selected group of students to design and build the installation.
The sculpture consists of 193 pieces, which equals the number of member states of the United Nations. The wooden boards used to form the mirror were leftover materials found in the wood workshop of the school. The cut offs from the production process were then integrated into the base of the sculpture and the stool.
The colourful materials refer to the diversity of the people that contributed to the recordings and to the various backgrounds of the 17 participating students with roots in Switzerland, South Korea, Belgium, Portugal, Cambodia, France, the US, Palestine, Portugal, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Madagascar and Colombia.
Students taking part in the workshop: Débora De Almeida Borralho, Lubna Behey, Ségolène Davister, Carla Duarte, Tibo Frey, Stéphanie Golaz, Célie Grobet, Hwang Gyeonghwan, Jinuk Hong, Aurora Lajci, Thaïs De Limoges, Antoine Matta, Vera Neuenschwander, Elioth Puthod, Daniel Ruiz, Louise Tjittes, Maya Saëlle Venetz.
Under the direction of Simon Husslein, with the assistance of Damien Greder
Photos: HEAD – Genève, Baptiste Coulon
Video: HEAD – Genève
HEAD – Genève:
Director: Jean-Pierre Greff
Head of Department: Javier F. Contreras
Scientific Deputy: Valentina De Luigi
Tutors and technicians: Charles Cuccu, Valentin Dubois, Sébastien Piteloud, Shizuka Saito, Alexandre Simian
Acoustics: Thomas Juguin
Construction: Atelier Good Wood
Photos: HEAD – Genève, Baptiste Coulon
Video: HEAD – Genève
HEAD – Genève:
Director: Jean-Pierre Greff
Head of Department: Javier F. Contreras
Scientific Deputy: Valentina De Luigi
Tutors and technicians: Charles Cuccu, Valentin Dubois, Sébastien Piteloud, Shizuka Saito, Alexandre Simian
Acoustics: Thomas Juguin
Construction: Atelier Good Wood
