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48 49 ARTLINES 4 | 2020 CONSERVING BREATH OR ECHO 2017 CONSERVING BREATH OR ECHO 2017 Stretching beyond the parameters of the Gallery to echo across the Brisbane River, Yuko Mohri’s Breath or Echo 2017 was installed at GOMA for APT9 and later acquired for the Collection with the generous assistance of Tim Fairfax AC. As Catherine Collyer writes, the work — being digital, electronic, mechanical and sculptural — has presented QAGOMA conservators with some interesting challenges. How does an artist capture the impermanent nature of the passage of time and turn invisible forces into a tangible artwork? For Breath or Echo 2017, Japanese artist Yuko Mohri (b.1980) automated instruments created from ready-made objects and rigged them to play elegant compositions using space, light and gravity. Mohri’s background in music and intermedia art led her to build the compelling, site-specific sound installation from locally and internationally sourced found materials, in dialogue with the Brisbane landscape. QAGOMA acquired Breath or Echo in 2018, following its inclusion in ‘The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT9). Initially created for the Sapporo International Art Festival in 2017, the work was a response to Sunazawa Bikky’s 1986 sculpture, Four Winds . It includes a recording of the poem Bikky composed to accompany his original sculpture of four wooden pillars intended to erode over time. The Gallery’s iteration of Breath or Echo features a layered soundscape of duetting pianos, metallic bells periodically jangling, metal chimes rattling against found objects, and electromagnets tapping concrete blocks. All the work’s movements are operated by a combination of electronic circuitry and mechanical devices, triggered by computer code. Spoken-word poetry is projected through strategically located loudspeakers, so the artwork bridges interior and exterior spaces, stretching beyond the parameters of the physical space to echo across the Brisbane River. This complex sculptural work presented multiple challenges to the Gallery’s Conservation team, which, with support from the QAGOMA Foundation, was tasked with maintaining synchronised digital, electronic and mechanical systems in addition to a mix of sculptural elements. Through discussions facilitated by Contemporary Asian Art curator Reuben Keehan, we established that Mohri’s central concept of the work is about ‘sonic speed’, or sound traversing substantial distances, and that the physical elements of the work can be replaced or otherwise maintained, providing they ensure the artist’s score plays over the landscape. While the work was on display in APT9, conservators made simple material repairs. Its wires, which are hooked into small eyelets under the piano keys, are activated by an electromagnetic charge through solenoids, 1 causing the plungers within the solenoids to pull down the piano keys and play the composition. Some of the original wires had snapped, so conservators replaced them with slightly thicker (0.8mm-gauge) versions to better withstand the force of the plungers. The work’s deconstructed upright pianos required further dismantling each time a wire snapped, which happened 15 times during the exhibition. Its light bulbs were also replaced throughout its display, while the mechanical elements that triggered visual changes were checked and readjusted daily, as the force of movement often diminished their effectiveness. Breath or Echo relies on the correct functionality of multiple elements working in synchronicity. In its current iteration, an issue has arisen with the activation of its electric streetlights: conservators are investigating a possible resolution by applying a digital bypass to trigger the circuitry, thereby avoiding mechanical failure. In addition, we are researching ways to prolong the lifespan of the incandescent bulbs specified by Mohri for use in the work. The artist and her assistants also modified the initiating computer code, simplifying the start-up sequence that triggers the work’s kinetic, audio and visual elements, so that it can be activated with the push of a single button. With the QAGOMA Foundation’s generous support, the Conservation team continues to explore technological solutions that maintain the integrity of the artwork in its ongoing conservation, in accordance with the AICCM (Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials) Code of Ethics. While core components such as the pianos and audio-recordings are critical to the work, Mohri is open to possible variations in some of the sculptural elements, locations and technological modifications that may offer other ways to present the work in future. Conservators are working with the artist to develop resolutions that pre-empt the obsolescence of some technical and mechanical elements of the artwork over time. This will enable future installations of this outstanding work at QAGOMA and may aid in the conservation of other complex time-based artworks in the Collection. Catherine Collyer is Associate Conservator, Sculpture. Endnote 1 A solenoid is a long coil of wire that creates a magnetic field inside when a current is passed through it. Opposite Views of Yuko Mohri’s Breath or Echo 2017, installed at GOMA for APT9, 2018–19 / Purchased 2018 with funds from Tim Fairfax AC through the QAGOMA Foundation / Photographs: Natasha Harth Above Inside one of the work’s two deconstructed pianos / Photograph: Dan Cook