4K video, 9,50 min, b&w, sound,
German with English or Korean subtitles Styrofoam light box,
colored glass; variable dimensions,
The Song of Polysiren consists of an installation with styrofaam lighboxes and glass objects and a video film. They can be exhibited together or separated.
A series of black glass objects of various forms and transparencies displayed on remodeled discarded styrofoam buoys from Jeju. The glass, reminiscent of fossils or precious stones, feature the surface textures of the island's coastal rocks, while their shapes are based on pieces of styrofoam collected at the same location. The work is a play of inversion, of hybridity, and inter-translation of materials and color.
The video explores polystyrene waste from the sea, focusing on its visual, tactile, and auditory qualities. In the video, we see children's hands from a bird's eye view against a black background, seemingly studying the sound and shape of Styrofoam pieces by touching, tapping, drumming, and rubbing. In other scenes, the children are shown playing without intention—making music or spinning in circles in slow motion. The video is accompanied by a child's narration, which explains the material plastic, its production, chemical nature, and origin in a textbook manner. The children’s play with the Styrofoam evokes an eerie tension and a feeling of cheerful seriousness. The video is divided into chapters, each titled with the letter of the C scale and takes up the idea of a song, which is reflected in the title of the work and the film scenes.
The sound of the word "polysiren" reminds us both of polystyrene, the synthetic polymer that is foamed into styrofoam, and of the mythical figures of the sirens, monsters part human, part bird or fish. The Song of Polysiren is inspired by Alain Resnais' 1959 documentary Le Chant du Styrène, which was made for the French industrial group Pechiney to highlight the virtues of plastics. The text that the child’s voice in the video seems to come from a time when plastic still represented a promise and is in contradiction with our current views in relation to pollution of nature and global warming
The video was created in cooperation with the kindergarten of the German School Seoul.
Actors: Dain, Leo, Kali, Matteo, Max, Maxi, Yuna and Yunseok.
Project assistance and structuring: Malte Min, Sandra Tjan
Sound: Kat Austen, Sascha Pohle
Editing and concept: Sascha Pohle
Sound: Kat Austen, Sascha Pohle
Editing and concept: Sascha Pohle
