Listening Forms

NZME Building, Auckland, New Zealand, 2015

Essay by Balamohan Shingade and Erena Johnson

Listening Forms was commissioned by Mansons TCLM under the guidance of Auckland Council after the construction of the NZME Building. The work is made of large-scale interactive light sculptures installed across the two main entrances of the building. Composed of geometric perspex forms embedded with LED’s, the work responds in real time to its sonic environment. Microphones capture surrounding sound, which is translated via computer into light: brightness reflects loudness, duration mirrors the length of sound, and colour is randomly assigned in relation to pitch. Shouts trigger intense illumination, ambient chatter produces moderate glows, and near-silence leaves the forms dormant, allowing the sculpture to register and visualise the building’s shifting acoustic life.