Zabo ChabilanD
ANATOMS SONORES
A tribute to the ‘Bone Records’ of the USSR
& Emile Berliner, inventor of the microgroove.
2024
ANATOM SONORE III
Extract from the sound performance Microsillons X, 2:58 min. Mastering: Nicholas Bussmann
X-ray film, 18X18 cm. Edition: 1/12, 2/12, 3/12, 3/12, 5/12, 6/12. 2024
In 1997, my experiments with photographic printing led me to take an interest in X-ray film, and to establish a crossover between these two techniques. This new medium led me on an artistic exploration that has continued to evolve ever since. The first installation, “Corps en Suspens”, consisted of a series of full-length portraits printed on a 1:1 scale. With the “Anatoms” series, the field of action was extended to landscapes and geological elements, apprehended as organs.
Early on in my research, a Russian friend visiting my studio in Brooklyn told me about another hijacking of medical radio that took place during the Cold War in the Soviet Union. Recordings of “unofficial” music, engraved on already exposed X-ray films (salvaged from hospital waste) were circulating illegally under the name “bones records”, “music on ribs” as an act of cultural resistance. They contained music from the West, in particular rock and jazz, but also Russian folk tunes, considered by the authorities to be “low culture”.
Since 2014, English musician Stephen Coates has made it his mission to safeguard the memory of this unique episode in the history of musical dissemination, still little known in the West.
The existence of these discs/objects inspired me to make my own version, replacing the exposed X-ray films with analog X-ray prints from my own production, and the unofficial music with an extract from the sound performance Microsillon X, specially consived to challenge the microgroove.
The series consists of 20 “images”, each printed in 12 unique copies, in negative or positive, presenting variations according to the type of X-ray film (for veterinary or hospital use) as well as different brands and expiration dates, ranging from 1997 to 2024. A further 10 discs were pressed directly onto blank X-ray film, showing the differents types of emulsions.
A tribute to the ‘Bone Records’ of the USSR
& Emile Berliner, inventor of the microgroove.
2024
Extract from the sound performance Microsillons X, 2:58 min. Mastering: Nicholas Bussmann
X-ray film, 18X18 cm. Edition: 1/12, 2/12, 3/12, 3/12, 5/12, 6/12. 2024
In 1997, my experiments with photographic printing led me to take an interest in X-ray film, and to establish a crossover between these two techniques. This new medium led me on an artistic exploration that has continued to evolve ever since. The first installation, “Corps en Suspens”, consisted of a series of full-length portraits printed on a 1:1 scale. With the “Anatoms” series, the field of action was extended to landscapes and geological elements, apprehended as organs.
Early on in my research, a Russian friend visiting my studio in Brooklyn told me about another hijacking of medical radio that took place during the Cold War in the Soviet Union. Recordings of “unofficial” music, engraved on already exposed X-ray films (salvaged from hospital waste) were circulating illegally under the name “bones records”, “music on ribs” as an act of cultural resistance. They contained music from the West, in particular rock and jazz, but also Russian folk tunes, considered by the authorities to be “low culture”.
Since 2014, English musician Stephen Coates has made it his mission to safeguard the memory of this unique episode in the history of musical dissemination, still little known in the West.
The existence of these discs/objects inspired me to make my own version, replacing the exposed X-ray films with analog X-ray prints from my own production, and the unofficial music with an extract from the sound performance Microsillon X, specially consived to challenge the microgroove.
The series consists of 20 “images”, each printed in 12 unique copies, in negative or positive, presenting variations according to the type of X-ray film (for veterinary or hospital use) as well as different brands and expiration dates, ranging from 1997 to 2024. A further 10 discs were pressed directly onto blank X-ray film, showing the differents types of emulsions.
L’enregistrement gravé sur les 250 Anatoms Sonores est un extrait de la performance sonore Microsillon X.
Il a été conçu comme un morceau de démonstration, qui tient compte de la détérioration potentielle des microsillons. La piste a été conçue comme un son de démonstration, mécanique et circulaire, qui anticipe la détérioration potentielle des microsillons.
Le dispositif de la performance Microsillon X, est constitué d’un rouleau de film radiographique placée entre un masseur électrique et la table d'harmonie d'un piano droit. Le film radiographique devient un instrument à part entière, amplifié par les vibrations du masseur électrique et de la table d’harmonie. Je joue en balançant mon corps avec force et retenue, dans un mouvement régulier sur le dispositif, dirigeant délicatement l’appareil électrique de façon rotative sur une vis en laiton fixée à la table d'harmonie.
Ce projet a reçu l’Aide Individuelle à la Création de la DRAC Pays de la Loire ainsi que l’Aide au projet de création arts visuels, Région Pays de la Loire, en 2022.
Making of the analog prints.
Spectral analysis of the track Microsillon X