o.T. (2014)

bird shaped synthesizers

technically updated an more contemporary version of the indian taus.

 

The taus is a string instrument played with a bow and gets its name from the Persian word for “peacock”. In India, it is also known as the Mayuri Veena and again, “mayur” is the Hindi word for “peacock”. An instrument associated with North and central India, the taus generally has very specific connections with the Punjab, in particular with the Sikhs, whose 6th Guru, Har Gobind, (1595 – 1694) is said by some to have been directly responsible for the invention of the instrument in an effort to produce something that was lighter in weight and much

easier to carry by warriors on the move. The taus produces a unique, deeply resonant and mellow kind of sound, particularly in the lower octaves, owing to its large sound-chamber which is shaped like a peacock. It is said to have the most beautifully moving and evocative sound of all the instruments that fall roughly into the same category.

 

plastic garden birds, wood, paint, ribbon controller, electronics

installation view, Galerie Conradi, Kunsthaus Hamburg, Germany