Piet Verkleij
Keywords: Theseaneversleeps, Nature, Sea
The sea never sleeps is an immersive audiovisual art installation consisting of a three meter high and six meter wide curved projection screen on which a sea-scape of the north sea coast is projected. The many faces of the sea flow by slowly shifting from day into night and from reality over the edge into the imaginary. A sea that’s always there, ever changing. A sea-soundscape accompanies the visuals and creates a meditative auditory atmosphere of natural and artificial sounds. All recordings of visuals and sound have been made at the beach of Scheveningen, a former fishing village which has now become part of the city of The Hague, where the artist lives.
I am an interdisciplinary artist working in the field of sound, visuals and performances. My work walks on the border between reality and fiction questioning the viewer’s perspective on the world. While daydreaming I think of what’s out there beyond the visible world around me. I create stories imagining a reality close to the one I experience daily but warped, more mystic and fantastical. These stories help me cope with reality. It shapes the complex world into a place that feels personal to me. I translate the stories into tangible experiences using audiovisual-installations, spoken and written stories, soundscapes or songs.
DIVINE SOUNDS: THE MEANING AND ROLE OF SOUND IN PUBLIC RITUALS WITHIN OUR FIVE MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS.
Thesis
This thesis researches the role of sound in public rituals within five major world religions, focussing on certain denominations consisting of Islam (Shia), Buddhism (Zen & more), Hinduism (Gaudiya Vaishnavism), Judaism (Modern orthodox & Reformed) and Christianity (Roman Catholicism). Sound and religion have always fascinated me and have played a big role in my life. My research methods include: literature research, participation in rituals, interviews and sound and video recordings. I expected there to be a lot of similarities in roles and meaning of sound on a fundamental level. In this study, I have demonstrated those functions of sound which can be found back in all five religions: Group Bonding, Memorization and Conveying of Sacredness, Signalling and Introspection. However, differences are also found in sound and function which are, melodic patterns, use of instrumentation, who produces sounds, the use and function of silence.