
Utility, by Charli Tapp – MONO Lisboa
Utility, by Charli Tapp – MONO Lisboa
Opening on the 23rd of February at MONO Lisboa, Charli Tapp’s first solo exhibition in Lisbon is dedicated to What is Useful and What is to be Used.
For this ephemeral exhibition, Tapp will present a series of sculptures and paintings to be perpetually utilized for the duration of the show, ranging from deployable-furniture to motorized sound systems.
Tapp explains:
“I’m in a perpetual competition with machines. The studio’s philosophy is that we must achieve Industrial Production-line level output, with bare hands, common hand tools, and DIY-accessible processes. In doing so, we’re measuring the true pace of Technology, without getting lost in the virtuality of it all.”
“I’m in a perpetual competition with machines. The studio’s philosophy is that we must achieve Industrial Production-line level output, with bare hands, common hand tools, and DIY-accessible processes. In doing so, we’re measuring the true pace of Technology, without getting lost in the virtuality of it all.”
The show is a toolkit for viewers. No piece only exists through the perception of the mind, as all serve a mechanical purpose in the space.
Here, Art isn’t a figure of speech, but a true means to an end, that end being: fulfilling physical Tasks and Necessities.
While various pieces co-function within the show, the center of the room features 6-DOF Field Sound System Model One (2023), a world premiere, first-of-its-kind mechanically directional high-efficiency audio system.
Housed in roto-molded casings, as if it could be deployed on any terrain, the system’s unique approach to music resides in utilizing 6-Degrees-of-Freedom open-source technology robotic arms, outfitted with horn-loaded mid-range compression drivers, capable of swinging sound through the air, in what is breaking every rule of Hi-Fi Audio.
6-DOF Field Sound System Model One (2023) is the continuity of Tapp’s production, who recently presented Velocity0 (2017-2022) at the latest Venice Art Biennale: a computerized grand piano played through an array of electromagnets.
While previous works explored the realm of algorithms and A.I., UTILITY aims the spotlight back onto the Mechanical paradigm shift, often overshadowed by the Virtual one, at a time when Industrial Production capabilities are reaching quasi-magic levels of abstraction, and our Right to Repair fades with our disinvolvement from the production processes.
With the artist and composer living and working in Japan, UTILITY undoubtedly displays Far East vibes of audiophila and hand-built technology, among which the considerable influence of the Japanese Listening Bars.
Throughout the duration of the exhibition, one of the active narratives will be the artist’s and his team’s presence within the space, rendering 6-DOF Field Sound System Model One (2023) accessible for the visitors to experience it, in a reconfiguration of the Japanese Listening Bar model.
A Prepper’s mindset unequivocally shines through in Tapp’s approach to producing ruggedized artworks, seemingly capable of withstanding much harsher environments than that of a white cube.
Roto-molding, rubber-coating, weatherproofing, and vibration-dampening are not mere symbols within the show, but a true quest for all-terrain-proofing artworks, rather than embedding them in a pristine yet terribly fragile state.
About the artist:
Born 1991, Charli Tapp is of that generation of artists who grew up witnessing the tidal shift between the death of Analog and the advent of Digital. Based in Japan, south of Tokyo, in the coastal area of Zushi, Tapp’s work is inhabited by a preparedness feeling not unfamiliar with seismically active subtropical areas.
Transforming the basement storage area of a gallery into a soundproof survival bunker inhabited by moving machines (2021, Anagra, Tokyo, Japan), Auto-tuning an entire lake (2018, Missing#, Luitré, France), scoring Blockchain a video essay exploring the heritage of the Bauhaus into the realm of virtual next-gen Minecraft players for its 100th anniversary (2017, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany), and most recently exhibiting Velocity0, an algorithmically controlled grand piano hammered by an array of electromagnets as part of the latest Venice Art Biennale (2022, Uzbekistan National Pavilion, 59th Venice Art Biennale, Italy), Tapp’s work carries contemporary questionings of the DIY culture, the Right to Repair movement, Autonomy, and Self-Sufficiency.
Transforming the basement storage area of a gallery into a soundproof survival bunker inhabited by moving machines (2021, Anagra, Tokyo, Japan), Auto-tuning an entire lake (2018, Missing#, Luitré, France), scoring Blockchain a video essay exploring the heritage of the Bauhaus into the realm of virtual next-gen Minecraft players for its 100th anniversary (2017, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany), and most recently exhibiting Velocity0, an algorithmically controlled grand piano hammered by an array of electromagnets as part of the latest Venice Art Biennale (2022, Uzbekistan National Pavilion, 59th Venice Art Biennale, Italy), Tapp’s work carries contemporary questionings of the DIY culture, the Right to Repair movement, Autonomy, and Self-Sufficiency.
Utility, by Charli Tapp – MONO Lisboa