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South River gallery features sound art display

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An art gallery in South River, south of North Bay, is taking a different approach to everyday sounds.

A new display captures sound through interactive sound art.

When you turn the crank on a refurbished circular ball machine, steel balls whiz about and orbit until they fall into the hole where they hit a microphone which activates a sound system.

It’s one of two new pieces at New Adventures in Sound Art, a gallery dedicated to sound and media art.

"We are interested in things that use electronics and interactivity, and also acoustic sounds. About twenty years ago, there were very few opportunities for presenting artwork with sound," said Darren Copeland of New Adventures in Sound Art

The gallery worked with Ottawa-based artist and composer, Jesse Stewart, and colleague, Matt Edwards, to bring in two new interactive displays called Orbits and Gong Show.

"With sound art, a lot of this work is about challenging the dominance of sight and visual communication," said sound artist Jesse Stewart.

Gong Show features three gongs hung from the gallery and an iPad in the window.

The gongs play sounds when someone walks in front of the iPad's motion tracker system, prompting mechanical strikers to strike the gongs.

"These pieces encourage listening, a sense of wonder or discovery, so we don't just hear with our ears. We also hear with our bodies," said Stewart

Since 2001, new adventures in sound art began with year-round programming and sound performances in Toronto.

In 2017, it relocated to South River.

"This year, we're focussing on alternative ways of making music, using your body and moving around, and other projects we have that use the body as a way of listening."

The two outdoor exhibits will be on display until September 26th...

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