Wirepiece (2022) consists of a drum string, held tight between two points (generally between ceiling and floor) which is touched—played, really—by a strip of film stock looped through a 16mm projector resting at a 45-degree angle on its plinth. The strip of celluloid takes on a double role: on the one hand, as is typical of its function, light is projected through it and creates a diffuse illumination. On the other hand, in an unusual function, the film's movement against the drum string creates a silvery sound. As an electronic pickup amplifies the vibrations of the string, the characteristic fluttering sound of celluloid passing through a projector is also intensified.
Wirepiece, 2022
Modified 16 mm projector, snare drum string, plinth
Dimensions variable
Installation view: The Tanks at Tate Modern, London, 2023
Photo © Tate (Reece Straw)
© Rosa Barba
Wirepiece, 2022 has been on display at the following locations:
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, 2025
Hamburger Kunsthalle, 2024
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 2024
The Tanks at Tate Modern, London, 2023
Centre Pompidou, 2023
cccod, Tours, 2022
Esther Schipper, Berlin, 2022