Genelec showcases sonic capabilities
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The project began with Genelec’s Australian distribution partner Studio Connections, who were introduced to Lee through a mutual friend. Always advocating for the sonic power of Genelec, Studio Connections knew straight away that the brand would be an excellent choice for Lee’s immersive project. “It was a challenging concept which pushed us out of our comfort zone, but as we were relying on a Genelec system, we knew that the result would be really powerful and moving,” explains Deb Sloss, managing director at Studio Connections.
The Sound of Yellow encouraged visitors to play with their perception of three of the five senses. Lee describes painting as a “transcendent experience,” where colours have different sounds and scents, specifically yellow which she hears the loudest. “It’s forceful. It represents the beginning of each day, a sense of hope, and also the end of each day and a sense of rest,” she says. “It’s happy and melancholic at the same time.”
For the sound element of the exhibition, guests arrived in groups of six and were invited to “shed their persona” by uncloaking and dressing in a custom designed white robe. From there, they entered a structure that was built to infuse solfeggio frequencies through the body via four white Genelec 8361 coaxial loudspeakers and four Genelec W371 woofer systems from The Ones series, complemented by a 7382 subwoofer.
The sound installation was housed in two open rooms, each approximately seven square meters with very high ceilings. Two loudspeaker “stacks” were positioned up against an exposed concrete wall, while the other two stood freely.
Genelec’s GLM software dealt with the frequency imbalance between these two sets of speakers, created by their positioning in the room. The software works to analyse and minimise the effect of unwanted acoustic influences in a space, giving users total control of the reproduced sound.
“The room was essentially a large echo chamber, and the only concession to the reverberation was a selection of artworks hanging on the walls,” continues Sloss. “In the middle of the room was a large wooden plinth that hid the 7382 subwoofer. The idea was that gallery visitors would lie down on the plinth and feel the vibrations.”
The system played healing solfeggio frequencies to guests, which date back as far as the 8th century. A series of nine frequencies between 174 and 963 Hz, they’re rooted in ancient traditions such as Gregorian and Sanskrit chants and it’s believed that the vibrational frequencies have a positive impact on mental wellbeing and can also relieve physical pain.
