Halifax-based artist Stephen Kelly, through his work WaveUp, explores the relationship between land and sea, sound waves and sea level. Using speakers mounted on the gallery walls and suspended from the ceiling, he combines electronic and sculptural elements to create an interactive work of art that mimics buoys at sea responding to weather and climactic conditions.
The speakers are connected via the Internet to Fisheries and Oceans Canada wave data buoys to translate data into motion and sound. The ocean’s behaviour is mirrored in real-time throughout the installation space. Ocean waves become sound waves. The speakers literally mirror the movements of the waves in the ocean. As the weather churns the sea, the speakers move more wildly in the gallery space. The movements are then translated to sound and the viewer is virtually set afloat.
