Ellen Vene

Is ambience a mere backdrop to our lives or a complex information system that gives us an unmediated understanding of our environment? Like an ocean of air, it defies definition, being ephemeral yet ever-present. M.McCullough has said that in an era of changing planetary circumstances, personal attention to immediate surroundings seems like a manageable first step toward some huge cultural shift.

In the installation, the creation of ambience is explored through common ambient objects and sounds which ask the viewer to pay attention to detail yet to recognize the whole. The looping sound fragments give a nod to the culturally most prominent use of the word ‘ambient’, to ambient music, but also to the loop-form nature of our daily existence.