It Begins refers not to a clear beginning or a singular event, but to a state of beginning that unfolds over time. The title marks duration rather than a point: a condition in which something is set in motion without yet stabilising.
The work approaches rehearsal not as preparation for performance, but as an autonomous space of thinking and acting. Rehearsals allow for uncertainty, pauses, errors, and unfinished transitions to remain present without being resolved into a final form. This logic of openness is translated into a sound installation.
The composition brings together fragmented text recordings, sung passages, breaths, pauses, and recordings of material vibrations. These elements do not follow a linear narrative, but coexist as parallel states within an ongoing process.
A text written by the artist was recorded in multiple sessions with two speakers. These recordings are treated as rehearsals and further fragmented into words, syllables, and sonic remnants. Meaning is not fixed, but opened, shifted, and reassembled.
Some of these fragments are informed by the phenomenon of phantom words: short verbal units that, through repetition and minimal temporal shifts, begin to change in perception. Although the sound material remains the same, what is heard oscillates between different meanings. Language drifts toward sound, and sound toward language.
Sound circulates through different materials in the space via exciters, which transmit vibrations directly into the surfaces. In addition, material vibrations were recorded using piezo microphones temporarily attached to the panels and integrated into the composition. The panels do not only reproduce their own sounds, but also those of the other materials, allowing resonances to circulate and shift roles—echoing rehearsal practices in which positions are exchanged.
The composition is organised as a 30-minute loop that runs throughout the exhibition. With each repetition, subtle changes and adjustments occur, so that no iteration is identical.
It Begins remains intentionally open: an ongoing sonic configuration that stays in a state of beginning rather than moving toward a fixed outcome.
Speakers
Lena Brückner
Maximilian Klas
Lili König
Developed with contributions and insights from
Pujan Sadri
Transcripts from the Youth Club of the Residenztheater
Anna Konjetzky and Team
Hanna Sikasa and Choir Members
Choir Member of the König Choir
Susanne Bentzien
Acknowledgements
Gerry Bibby
Jonathan Penca
Florian Hecker
Johanna Gonschorek
Anke Dyes
Schirin Kretschmann
Anna Schübel
Tobias Tzschaschel
Eveline Reinholz
Kiawash Sallehsari
Anja Lekavski
Aki Kiefer
Sara Mayoral
Maria del Carmen Molina Vázquez
Sebastian Strobl
Jakob Langreiter
Yonas Moeller
treibgut Material-Hub-Initiative
With thanks to Michael Hein and Mechakustik.de GmbH for their generous technical sponsorship and kind support
My thanks also extend to the many others who have supported and accompanied this project along the way.
